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Copyright N°__

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT.

NOITIVLS NOWAHOWAd GALON V

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Profitable
Stock Raising

A Careful Discussion
of the Problems Involved in the Develop-

ment of Profitable Live Stock and
the Maintenance of Soil Fertility

By
CLARENCE ALBERT SHAMEL
Editor Orange Judd Farmer

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
1911

Copyright, 1911, by
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
All Rights Reserved

PRINTED IN U. S. A,

€ cLA2SU854

PREFACE

PON improved live stock the prosperity of the

American farmer depends. If he so desires,
every American farmer can have profitable farm
animals. To fully explain the general principles
which enter into profitable live stock, this little
book is written and given to the public. It points
out the profitable types of farm animals, how to
handle them so as to get the best returns, how to
select breeding stock, how to feed and market all
classes of farm animals. Technicalities have been
carefully avoided so that anyone can, if he will,
derive much benefit from studying its pages.

In the preparation of this book, I have been very
ably assisted by Mr. Fred L. Petty, assistant editor
of Orange Judd Farmer, to whom I hereby
acknowledge my obligations.

CLARENCE A. SHAMEL.
Chicago, October, I9gIo.

&

Table of Contents

CHAPTER I.

BEEN Tg STORK PIRES. oot, ha See tee te oS eg

Live stock most important factor in farm life—Its
production not keeping pace with population—
Statistics show supply short of actual requirements
—Some problems of profitable stock production—
Valuable land demands more efficient animals—
Rich land depends upon live stock—Value of ma-
nure should receive greater appreciation—The need
a more and better animals—Breed better and feed
tter.

CHAPTER II.

PRINCIPLES OF PERMANENT AGRICULTURE..........2.

What permanent soil use requires—China, India and
other famine-plagued countries have small live stock
supply—The prosperous agriculture of western Eu-
rope coincident with large stock production—Russia
has little live stock and an eight-bushel wheat
yield—Abandoned tobacco lands of Maryland and
Virginia were worn out by the one-crop system—
Some accepted principles of soil maintenance—Ro-
tation alone not sufficient—Permanent agriculture
established most easily by means of systems of live
stock farming—Care of live stock demands high use
of intelligence—Is conducive to contentment on
farm—Makes for better citizenship—Discourages
itineracy of farm labor—Live stock is the connect-
ing link between rotation and permanent agricul-
ture.

CHAPTER III.

AGRICULTURAL SITUATION IN THE EAST.....ccccceece

New England and North Atlantic states need a
new agriculture—Movement of eastern migration—
Abandoned farms can be acquired cheaply—Dairy-
ing, poultry, sheep and swine should be made the
basis of operations—Unlimited markets easily ac-
cessible—Dairying demands clover, builds up soil,

v

18

32

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

increases yields—Rational agriculture based upon
live stock means an affluent agricultural East—
Haphazard methods must go.

CHAPTER IV.

SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE NEEDS FARM ANIMALS.....

The one-crop idea in the South—Why old fields
were abandoned—Present acre production low in
many instances—Readjustment of southern agri-
culture in progress—Possibilities for live stock farm-
ing in South—Best forage crops thrive—Cottonseed
furnishes unexcelled concentrates—The South should
produce meat—Cattle and hogs thrive and are pro-
lific in southern meadows—The South should grow
its own work stock—Wonderful land for legumes—
These will furnish forage and soil nitrogen—In-
creased fertility will produce more cotton and
tobacco than before, and animal products in addi-
tion—The South buys too much foodstuff, should
produce it at home—A rebirth of southern agricul-
ture with live stock a balancing factor.

CHAPTER V.

LET THE WEST HEED THE WARNING.....ce «<a

Numerous evidences of waning productivity—Un-
intelligent cropping showing its effect upon lands
of nation’s granary—Lowered fertility contempo-
raneous with lessened stock production—Shipping
away vast quantities of corn and hay bad economy
—Can live stock pay on $200 land?—More sheep
and hogs—More clover, alfalfa and cowpeas—More
nitrogen in soil—Larger crops—Plenty of feed—
More meat animals and more manure—Restore the
humus and build up the soil—Corn, cattle and
clovers the tripod supporting western farms.

CHAPTER VI.

Doxrs Live SToce, PA bi o's ce.ces wwle cud ea eee

All live stock is not profitable—Four dairy cows to
do the work of two not profitable—Scrub stock
must go from valuable land—Scrub dairy ani

do not pay board—lInferior meat animals cannot
utilize feed economically—How to weed out the
scrubs—Test the dairy stock—Select breeding ani-

Page

41

57

68

TABLE OF CONTENTS Vil

Page
mals intelligently—-Examine blood lines carefully—
The individuality of the animal—Not all pure bred
stock superior breeders—Get both blood and indi-
viduality—Indiscriminate breeding spells disaster—
How to grade up the herd or flock.

CHAPTER VII.
BASiIs OF PROFITABLE STOCK BREEDING...........0e- 76

Good blood lines—Discriminating selection—Good
feed and shelter—Use pure bred sire and good
grade stock—Class and breed determined by en-
vironment and personal taste—Type and conforma-
tion—Quality, what it is and how to detect it—
Best animal the one which utilizes feed most eco-
nomically in attaining end for which it is kept.

CHAPTER VIII.
PRINCIPE S OF DREEDING i). als Sb ee eels oie oloie die es aoe 89

Objects of breeding—Cross breedine—Line breeding
—In and in breedinge—Relative influence of sire
and dam—lIs a good individual, not pure bred, pref-
erable to a mediocre pure bred sire ?—Care of sire—
Care of dam—How it differs from feeding for market
—Blood cannot do its best without good feeding.

CHAPTER IX.
NESE SEOCN DY CL BE DTN Gey erate che ter aces cree hale Bere Leena 99

Principles of feeding—Nutritive ratio—Balanced
ration—Feed depends upon the result desired—Use
of legumes—Alfalfa, clover and cowpeas—Value of
grasses—Grains and concentrates—Succulent feed—
Special feeds—Suitable combinations for different
feeding purposes—Fattening rations and mainte-
nance rations—Individuality of animals influences
feeding capacity.

CHAPTER X.
ROK PROM THE \DAIRV s.2g00o Pies ete eee 116

Magnitude of dairy industry—Dairy breeds and
types—Efficiency in dairy cows—Feeds and feed-
ing—Cooperative breeding and _ testing—Soiling
crops and the silo—Winter feeds and concentrates
—Types of dairy barns—Dairy sanitation—Effects
of dairying on soil.

Vill TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
CHAPTER XI.

SHEEP UNDER FarM CONDITIONS......:.5s66s peu 145
Review of history of sheep in America—Breeds and
types—The type now required—Breeding and man-
agement—Lambing—Care of ewes and lambs—
Sheep in summer—Pasture and management—
Docking, shearing and clipping—Fattening for
market—Benefit to soil—‘‘The sheep has a golden
hoof.”’

CHAPTER XII.
THE SWINE INDUSTRY. ...0 5505 0s ses ss ce ey se nn 173

Factors of success—Breeds and types—Principles
of selection—Care and feeding of breeding swine—
One or two litters per year—Pasture and forage—
Systems of grazing—Hogging off crops—Details of
fatteninge—Utility of swine on high-priced land—
What the market demands.

CHAPTER XIII.
THE AMERICAN HORSE MARKET. ::....+.:0s000 cna 189

Magnitude of American horse values—Small pro-
ortion of mares bred—Future horse demand—
reeds and types—Choice of stallion—Kind of mare

to breed—Scrub mare should be eliminated—Care

of mare—Why so few mares breed—Feed and care

of colt—Its first winter—Colt as a yearling—Mar- ‘°

ket demands and values.

CHAPTER XIV.
MuLES Art PROFITABLE. «66s 0 00 os 00ale un bes eee 203

Strong market demand—Prices always high—
Types—Breeds of jacks—American jacks improve-
ment upon imported ones—Type of mare to breed—
What constitutes a good mule—Life, weight, and
action.

CHAPTER XV,
BABY DORE ooo le vis ghee ack bt ae Oe ae aie 214

What it is—Kind of calves to feed—Age and con-
dition—Kinds of feed—How to secure best results—
Shelter and water—Forages and concentrates—
Succulent feeds.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1X

CHAPTER XVI.
MOETROIS EY PANES): joie eon VaR CTR eh es eS yk ee ot 229

What they are—The market demand—How to plan
for them—Breeds best adapted—Time of lambing—
Care of lambs—Marketing—Prices and profits.

CHAPTER XVII.
IPASTURES FOR GRAZING Farm ANIMALS ........0.+. 237

Permanent pastures on farm land—English prac-
tice—Build up the grass land—Feeding values.

CHAPTER XVIII.
Rito e OTOCK FOR WIARKET. 6. 00200) lee ees bn eee 244.

Factors influencing feeding—Cost and value—Feed-
ing periods—How to feed during the finishing period
—Use of high-priced concentrates—Preparing for
shipment—Finishing horses for market—Highest
finish or bloom impossible without quality in ani-
mals—A stunted animal never regains its quality—
Profits of stock finishing.

CHAPTER XIX
Srna HOR LIVE STOCK Aare halo. shai slae RIOe eee ee 258

The beef situation—Cattle business in transitional stage
—Breaking up of western ranches—Encroachment of
sheep industry upon cattle ranges—Advent of home-
steader—Status of industry in Texas—Increasing beef
supply demanded by Northwest—No more cheap beef
likely —Conclusion.

List of Illustrations

rewarion Ol Horse: Barts! sc). sso oo. occ eke ie
taomndvrlan of Horse Barn, .s.ol6 2 sce< cee. 13
Eee oruwestern, Marm ‘Granaty. (....5.4.... » 27,
sen-Peeder for a Missouri Harmi.. 0275... 46
Peete @ Cle) Tarte tia tinials u's see mite vicisre a ee 66
Mell OS MEVOUSE.: 5/5... 0% sito aio\e eS eel ast ones G2
Pieyecion Of HOS HOUSE si 5. < oeci's oe oi eso. o 2 eis 84
Bieta anor EOS FLOUSE sco: 1 ccctea ies ove ae 85
Som mbakota Stock Barn... sgsou~ 0s cael 104
Perm Ge Matiy LOUSE.. 6.02 Le Wisin ces ore ae nae 124
meovdehioan Dairy Barn and Silo. 2......2.--- QZ
Mevation of Dairy Barn... 0.256.252.5468 accee OAD
amma, Plan ot Dairy Banner. so ..2. seke cate eels 143
pemiciatia Mantbing ohied's. 2. 2s. + s< dew sveaiels 155
Eeickeiceding MlOOrs .o5i. <2 25.2\6 setae es 180
Meer EOS Shelter io. e eas ahciels ein eee cisle 184
Pe liiaois: IROtUnd! Battin sic. scsi s econ electors I9I
Seemeral’ Hari ahi sis cic sts aetekols sve dicta e ateteva ets 199
iteaeme, Vater, Supply. ac cic sa cis cielereele reiterate 223
iometon omall) Pigs... ig. veces oe lblace ive elena 230

Ikeac View of Dairy Barn......... sone Sego5 253

. , Ri
Pl Pee ve, y L A ,
indy wh i Hie *

INTRODUCTION

No factor is of as great importance in American
agriculture as the keeping of profitable live stock.
By profitable live stock is meant stock that will
pay for its keep and return a net profit. The value
of profitable live stock is appreciated by a large
number of people, but the bulk of the American
farmers do not thoroughly understand why one
animal is more profitable than another. It is
manifestly bad policy to keep a dairy cow at a
cost for feeding and maintenance of $60 a year when
she returns only $40 or $50 in the form of butter
and milk in addition to her calf. Dairy statisticians
tell us that hundreds of thousands of dairy cows in
the United States belong to that unprofitable type.

It is also perfectly apparent that a meat produc-
ing animal of any kind which does not mature
rapidly, attain at least fair size in a short time,
which does not utilize every bit of food eaten, and
cannot be placed on the market at a good price, is
also unprofitable. Live stock statisticians also tell
us that there are many thousands of meat produc-
ing animals of this unprofitable type. particularly
on the general farms in America.

Because of this lack of information, it is highly
important that the general farmer, as well as the
special stock farmer, should have these matters
brought to his attention. For this reason this
little book is written. It is impossible, in a work
of this kind, to go into detail in any particular line.
The thought throughout is to call attention, first,
to the general principles involved in every branch
of profitable live stock husbandry and to give

2 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

specific instances illustrating the problems dis-
cussed. It goes without saying that if the general
principles are thoroughly understood, and if these
general principles are i-1strated even briefly, the
progressive farmer will be able to work out his own
salvation; consequently, while there are number-
less books on different phases of live stock, there
are none which fill the need which this book is
intended to supply.

The exclusive grain growers of the Northwest are
rapidly changing to diversified agriculture. In cer-
tain sections of South Dakota, for example, wheat
and oats formerly occupied all the attention of the
farmer. Yields greatly decreased until farming on
a large scale became unprofitable except during the
most favorable seasons. Diversification is rapidly
taking place. Large numbers of farm animals are
being kept. Corn is being grown, potatoes and
even cabbage occupy a part of the land. In New
England the worn-out farms are being made profit-
able by the keeping of dairy animals, of hogs
and of poultry, by the growing of alfalfa, cowpeas,
crimson clover and vetch, by the buying and feed-
ing on the farms of some form of concentrated feeds
like oil meal, cottonseed meal or refuse from the
flour mills of the Northwest. It has been definitely
proved that these older farms along the Atlantic
coast can be profitably handled if live stock is kept,
if leguminous plants are grown and if, third, but
not least in importance, the soils are given thorough
and intelligent treatment.

But it is not only South Dakota; it is not only
New England; it is not only the older states along
the Atlantic coast that must give this matter of
profitable live stock careful attention. Illinois and
Iowa, with their apparently inexhaustible soils,

INTRODUCTION 3

are finding that with the increase in land values,
it is impossible to pay even a reasonable interest
on the investment unless, along with corn, hogs,
cattle and sheep are raised; unless these black soils
are frequently rested by the growing of some legu-
minous crops and by the feeding of these same crops
to animals raised at home.

In profitable live stock production, of course, the
first thing is the raising of sufficient feed. The
next thing is the selection of animals in any de-
partment of animal industry whatever that will
more than pay for their keep. If these two things
are borne in mind; if particular attention is given
to the treatment of soil to produce larger crops; if
particular attention is given to getting rid of un-
desirable animals, no matter what the sacrifice may
be; if particular attention is given to the selection
of breeding stock of the chosen type, not only will
the animals themselves become more profitable,
but the fertility of the land will be built up rather
than depleted. The producing capacity of every
section of the United States will be increased by
the keeping of profitable live stock.

So it comes about that this book is written to call
attention to these important problems, and it is
given to the public with the hope that it will be a
factor in greater prosperity to the American farmer.

CHAPTER I

The Live Stock Field

Live stock is the most important factor in farm
life. Without animals the fertility of the soil can-
not be maintained. Without maintaining soil fer-
tility profitable crop production is not possible.
True, in a few thickly settled countries it is not
possible to keep large numbers of farm animals,
but where this condition exists, mineral plant food
must be brought in from the outside. There is a
limit to the supply of this mineral plant food, con-
sequently the most satisfactory agriculture to work
for must be that system which includes the best
types of live stock.

Under present conditions in the United States
the production of live stock is not keeping pace with
the population. In spite of the fact that in the
United States the total number of animals has in-
creased during the past years, the fact remains
that, measured by increasing population, we are in
a diminished period of actual production. During
the year 1909 there was much complaint among
wage workers because of the high price of meats.
Some of the resentment which was shown towards
slaughterers and retailers had a good basis in fact,
because both of these classes, particularly the latter,
are absorbing a greater part of the value of the
carcass than is warranted.

Making full allowance for this, the underlying
reason for the increased cost of meat animals and
also of work animals will be found to be the relative
decrease in production. This reason is bound to

4

THE LIVE STOCK FIELD 5

increase in magnitude as the years go by, because
of the unwillingness or inability of the American
farmers to increase their production of animals as
rapidly as the population increases. This fact
does not necessarily warrant any unusual alarm,
because, as the situation demands it, a readjust-
ment between supply and consumption will take
migec. Just as soon as it becomes apparent that
more animals must be raised, farmers will be found
who will increase their holdings of live stock. Con-
ditions in the United States, however, do indicate
that the producer of live stock is assured of higher
values, which, of course, is gratifying to him. The
consumer also must make up his mind to pay a
higher price, whether he wants to or not. The
trend of high prices, however, sympathetically
shows the relation of supply to demand. When
prices are high, it goes without saying that the
supply is not keeping pace with demand.

The following table indicates the price at the
beginning of to910 for the different classes of
animals produced in the United States, in com-
parison with the highest prices ever previously re-
corded:

Changes from High Point

--High point

Year Price 1910 Change Per ct.
NAGOESE Sibirelalicile’'e. oe 6, o/s eilei's 1909) $91202% “SiO 50 + $10.48 11.5
INTIS Saito ay rate; (oho vo.ce. 6 yevlolss sie 1908 99.72 108.57 eo) 8.9
WITICIIVCOWS: ccc sees 1909 - 32.00 35.25 + 3.25 Mail
OPERET CALTIC:. ¢ ss 00s 6 1900 24.83 20.76 — 4.07 16.4
OS ite eases issue 6) als, 6 e. 1907 7.63 9,15 + 1.52 19.9
IC TMM atc) eve jellale ele cleo 1907 3.89 4.07 + .18 4.6

The above table indicates that the prices of all
classes of farm animals, with the exception of those
listed under fat cattle, have increased, and of

6 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

course, is highly satisfactory, to the producer. This,
however, does not tell the whole story. Such a
comparison would not be complete without a cor-
responding showing of the variance of the present
situation, as shown by the comparison of present
prices with the lowest prices ever recorded at the
bottom of periods of live stock or financial depres-
sion.

Indeed, such a showing probably best pictures
the present highly satisfactory condition of the live
stock industry. An examination of the table pre-
sented below will show that milch cows touched
their lowest value in 1892, and since that time there
has been an increase in the average price per head
amounting to 64.7 per cent. In 1895 beef cattle
touched their lowest point, since which time there
has been an advance of 46.7 per cent.

Sheep touched the bottom in 1896 with the aver-
age value per head of $1.60, as compared with an
average of $4.07 at present, while hogs reached their
greatest depression in 1897, when they were worth
$4.13 per head as against $9.15 at present.
Horses and mules reached the bottom in 1897-98,
since which time they have increased in value by
201 per cent in the case of horses and 173 per cent
in the case of mules.

The accompanying statement shows the present
value of the different classes of live stock, together
with the lowest value ever previously recorded.
It will be noted that with the exception of milch
cows the increase from the bottom to the present
range of values has taken place in practically one
decade, and the increase in this decade is so great
that it would seem almost incredible if it were not
a matter of statistical record.

THE LIVE STOCK FIELD 7

Changes from Low Point

--Low pointy

Year Price 1910 Increase Per ct.
EMOE SCS fois 5, crocs e060 1897 $33.65 $101.50 $67.85 201.6
UTES Ta a a eee 1898 39.66 108.57 68.91 WBA
TNC GOW. osicee-c « 1892 21.40 35.24 13.84 64.7
Other cattle........ 1895 14.15 20.76 6.61 46.7
HEHOIST eisicisiclic oe seis ose 1897 4.13 9.15 5.02) 121.5
RSME C Waters istelevee(e-c.0\0 6 1896 1.60 4.07 2.47 154.4

Details by States

In distribution of horses Illinois ranks first,
closely followed by Iowa and Texas, with Kansas
fourth, the last state having more than a million
head. The average value per head of horses shows
some peculiar conditions. New Jersey, as might
naturally be expected, on account of its location
between the great cities of the East, ranks first,
with an average of $120. The state of Washington
has a similar average, but Ohio stands first, with
$118.15, in the states having large numbers of
horses. In the case of mules Texas leads, with
Missouri second. As in the case of horses, New
Jersey leads in value per head.

The leading dairy states, as shown by the num-
ber of milch cows, are the New England states,
New York and Pennsylvania in the East, Illinois,
Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa in the West, with
Texas having a large number because of the large
total number of other forms of flesh food animals,
such as cattle, in the state. The average price is
highest in New Jersey, with $44, followed closely
by Illinois, with $42, and Pennsylvania, $38. Ar-
kansas, with $22.80, shows the lowest price.

In the case of cattle other than milch cows Texas
leads, with $7,357,000, or nearly one-seventh of the
total number in the country. Iowa comes second,
with about half as many, followed by Kansas and

8 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Nebraska. The highest average value is in Illinois,
with $28.50.

The accompanying statement shows the total
number and value of cows and other cattle by
states:

Number and Value of Cattle by States January
I, IgIO

[Last three figures, 000’s* omitted.]

m—-Milch cows-——_, ———Other cattle,
No. Per head Value No. Per head Value
fC: OE ee pt $39,862 664 $18.00 $11,952

(Ee eae 1,83 35.0 64,295 957 17.00 16,269
NM. Daicnoee 91 44.00 8,404 87 21.00 1,827
See 1,163 38.00 44,194 946 19.00 17,974
PUES ikem tesla 1,092 28.20 30,794 7,357 14.00 102,998
Ae acs as 349 22.80 7,957 645 11.20 7,224
Tenn 382 30.00 11,460 658 15.90 10,462
a: wae 220 33.50 7,370 539 21.00 11,319
i ae 402 32.40 13,025 706 21.10 14,897

on weenie 949 39.20 37,201 1,115 25.00 27,875
Mich ....<+ 840 39.90 33,516 979 21.00 20,559
Ge 669 39.60 26,492 1,083 26.40 28,591
eta’ fate 1,287 42,00 54,054 2,058 28.50 58,653
TUS Gime at's 1,249 35.25 44,027 1,170 21.20 24,804
Minn. .... 1,065 34.35 36,583 1,200 20.10 24,120
ea sinh aS 1,668 36.30 60,548 3,622 24.70 89,463
Mo. w2200- 878 34.10 29,940 2,165 23.80 51,527
Kan 889 36.25 32,226 3,456 24.10 83,290
Neb. ..... 780 35.10 27,375 3,063 22.80 69,836
es ae 248 37.60 9,325 732 24.70 18,080
S. D...... 632 33.80 21,362 1,433 24.00 34,392
Cal ...-. 423 36.70 15,524 1,222 20.70 25,295
Ore. ..... 182 42.10 7,662 739 22.10 16,332
Wash 182 42.00 7,644 408 23.50 9,588
Okla 229 33.25 7,614 1,300 20.0 26.000
Other 2,666 30.00 79,980 10,476 20.00 209,520

Total... 21,521 $35.24 $758,434 48,780 $20.76 $1,012,847

Something more than 60 per cent of the sheep of
the country are in the Rocky Mountain states and
on the Pacific coast. Ohio is the only mixed farming
state making a large showing in numbers, followed
by Michigan and New York in the order named.
New York leads in average value per head again
on account of its location and accessibility to
market. Naturally, the heavy hog states are the
states of the corn belt, Iowa leading, with 6,487,000,

THE LIVE STOCK FIELD 9

followed by Illinois, with 3,646,000. Texas, on ac-
count of its large geographical area, stands third in
number, and is rapidly increasing its importance as
a hog state.

The following statement shows the number and
value of sheep and hogs by states:

Number and Value of Sheep and Hogs by States
January 1, 1910

[Last three figures, 000’s, omitted.]

i——— Sheep -——__, —————_Hogs————_
No. Per head Value No. Per head Value

Daa Elie ee-= » 644 $4.85 $3,123 309 $10.50 $3,245
Se ss oe 1,173 5.60 6,569 591 9.50 5,615
BSE ialicin (00 2 = 41 6.00 246 157 11.00 1,727
Lei A 1,086 5.50 5,973 934 9.00 8,406
PR eine sa « 1,548 3.00 4,644 3,307 6.80 22,488
046 ee 278 2.75 764 1,074 5.25 5,639
UCT 3.0. « 337 4.00 1,348 1,249 8.00 9,992
Wi... Va. 693 5.00 3,465 338 7.20 2,434
BOM evele » 6» 918 4.50 4,131 1,025 6.20 6,355
US SA 3,148 4.80 15,110 2,036 9.50 19,342
Mich. 2,062 5.20 10,722 1,170 10.50 12,285
Ge iss 5's 1,093 5.05 5,520 2,515 9.55 24,018
US ee 666 5.60 3,730 3,646 10.45 38,101
MMOS oe @ 944 4.70 4,437 1,555 10.75 16,716
Diana 6. < . 386 3.90 1,505 1,034 10.65 11,012
el aelreials\s << 628 5.60 3,517 6,487 12.06 77,844
iC ae 922 4.70 4,333 2,723 6.90 18,789
L121) a ee 238 4.60 1,095 2,240 9.50 21,280
TED. aie ss 421 4.40 1,852 2,860 10.00 28,600
le Dic a 469 5.00 2,345 143 11.30 1,616
a 820 4.90 4,018 705 11.00 8,178
Cal, .. 2,289 3.70 8,469 424 8.40 3,562
EEE wai +70 2,475 4.20 10,395 241 8.70 2,097
Wash. 744 4.25 3,162 132 9.00 1,188
Mont. .... '5,696 3.60 20,506 — — a
Wyo. . 6,498 3.90 25,342 — — —
OTe. bi craie LAY ELaeh 3.60 6,397 — — —
bie es 5,093 3.50 17,826 — — et
Utah 3,222 3.60 Ua sys) — — aoe
BTCV, s)s 0 0 1,658 3.35 5,554 — — a
TOAD sesso» . 4,087 3.70 15,122 — — a
Okla, .... 70 4.00 280 431 8.00 3,448
Other .... 2,602 3.75 9,758 7,640 7.50 57,300

Total.. 54,726 $4.07 $222,857 44,966 $9.15 $411,277

The statement here printed shows the distribu-
tion of horses and mules by states:

Io

PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Number and Value of Horses and Mules by States
January 1, Ig10

[Last three figures, 000’s, omitted.]
——_Mules————_,

-———-- Horses--———_,

No. Per head Value No. Perhead Value

Ne} Sas. ate 433 $115.00 $49,795 1 $120.00 120
GY RI. Gea eae 700 114.00 79,800 4 130.00 520
13 CR Leo 103 120.00 12,360 6 135.00 810
Pace 636 115.00 73,140 45 129.00 5,805
Tex: 1,351 77.00 104,027 656 101.00 66,256
Arka tl) 281 90.10 25,318 202 113.10 22,846
Tenn . 338 104.30 35,253 280 116.00 32,480
WwW. Va 193 98.00 18,914 11 120.00 1,320
IVE. ve 414 105.00 43,470 196 114.00 22,344
6 ae ee 970 118.15 114,606 15 117.00 1,755
Mich 673 115.00 77,395 3 118.00 354
Ind. 803 110.00 88,330 83 116.05 9,632
Rie reas 1,447 115.00 166,405 139 120.00 16,680
Wis. 656 114.00 74,784 5 115.00 575
Minn (hy pe 109.00 8+ 148 9 110.00 990
{2 ee 1,395 114.00 159,030 59 127.00 7,493
"(oe Ge ee 924 100.60 92,954 BEE 116.00 38,860
Keane ask 1,066 103.90 109,798 140 123.20 17,248
Neb. . 894 108.10 96,641 70 121.00 8,470
J oe By Ye 595 102.00 66,640 7 122.00 854
Sar Di. 561 110.00 61,710 8 120.00 960
Gal. |; 422 102.00 43,044 73 119.00 8,687
Ore. —: 289 108.00 31,212 7 115.00 805
Wash 322 120.00 38,640 4 125.00 500
Okla. 443 88.75 39,316 184 115.40 21,234
Other 3,531 75.00 264,825 1,356 100.00 135,600

Total.. 20,212 $101.50 $2,051,555 3,898 $108.57 $423,198

From the above it will be seen that the value of

live stock in the United States at the beginning of
I9IO was enormous. According to B. W. Snow,
statistician for Orange Judd Company publications,
the stock on American farms was worth on Jan-
uary I, 1910, $4,880,068,000; the increase during the
year 1909 amounted to the enormous sum of
$560,190,000, or the largest annual increase ever
recorded.

This upward movement of prices had been in
progress for more than ten years, so that the im-
portance, from a money standpoint alone, of the
live stock industry, is apparent. The value of the
different kind of farm animals and increase during
the year 1909 is shown in the table below:

THE LIVE STOCK FIELD re

Total Value of Farm Animals

1910 1909 Increase
IEVOPSES) 6.6022 ce be $2,051,555,000 $1,816,074,000 $235,481,000
WVU Siiteyeleie clove eee) 423,198,000 369,997,000 53,201,000
Milch cows ...... 758,434,000 674,813,000 83,621,000
@ther cattle ..... 1,012,847,000 960,966,000 51,881,000
TEIOSS 55 core nono wae 411,177,000 310,806,000 100,371,000
SiGe: Soscadac we 222,857,000 187,222,000 35,635,000

Total......... 4,880,068,000 $4,319,878,000 $560,190,000

Average Price Per Head

1910 1909 Increase Per ct.

PIOESES! oo 2 ce cs Detslaisica sacs p Lod DO $91.02) $10.48 11.5
MVMIDEES Uo «cise 0 ais HO WRO OCD 108.57 97.70 10.87 alaleal
Milch COWS... cces eceveeen $5.24 32.00 3.24 10.1
Other cattle..... niesdteravetone 20.76 18.95 rlsSal 9.5
HET OLSe cists cielo sis: ese 1s o's eters 9.15 6.22 2.93 47.1
IMEC TON aair i sis =< iso 6 vce ic 4.07 3.55 52 14.6

The problems connected with profitable live stock
production are becoming more and more complex as
the years go by. Prof Herbert W. Mumford, who
has charge of the animal husbandry department at
the university of Illinois, has probably made as
careful a study of this proposition as any man in
the country. He has not only visited the stock-
growing regions in the United States, but made a
thorough investigation of the conditions in the
Argentine. He has attempted to get a broad view
of the situation and has reached some interesting
conclusions. He finds that in a country where
agriculture is new, as in the United States, the
problems were at first comparatively easy, but as
time passed they became more complex and more
difficult. |

Until a permanent system of agriculture has been
established, brief periods arise when grain farming
becomes more profitable than live stock produc-
tion, because temporarily the price of feeds used
in the production of live stock becomes relatively
higher than the price of animal products. These

12 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

high grain prices cause an extension of grain pro-
duction, pastures are plowed up, farm animals are
disposed of, and a very material reduction in the
number of farm animals is the immediate result.
Further than this, the production of stock is, in
a new country, associated with cheap land. As the
land advances in value, it has been the common
practice to reduce the number of farm animals, the

ELEVATION OF HORSE BARN

feeling being that cattle, sheep, hogs and horses
cannot be profitably raised on high-price land.
Then an added factor is found by Professor Mum-
ford to be having its influence. In some sections
of the United States the tendency is toward tenant
farming. The original landowners have accu-
mulated enough money to retire and move to town.
In securing tenants to replace these original hold-
ers there is great difficulty in getting hold of ten-
ants who care to handle live stock. Some of them
do not have experience, while others feel that as
their stay is only temporary at best, it will not pay
them to stock up with farm animals. The recent
tendency, however, among farmers, to adopt per-

THE LIVE STOCK FIELD 13

manent forms of agriculture and remain on their
land will do much to counteract this difficulty.

WHY LIVE STOCK WILL PAY

There are many reasons why live stock will con-
tinue profitable. The multiplicity of kinds and
methods of live stock production and the variation

’
ee te

pp

@

GROUND PLAN OF HORSE BARN

in market value both of feeds used and animals
involved, make it impossible to give a detailed
statement of just how profitable this will be. Pro-
fessor Mumford calls attention to a Missouri ex-
periment where various forage and grain crops were
consumed by hogs. ©

The hogs used in the investigation weighed at
the beginning about 100 pounds each. The corn,
where used as a supplement to forage crops, was
charged against the hogs at 60 cents a bushel; the
gains on hogs were credited at $6 per 100 pounds.
Nothing was charged for labor and no credit given

14 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

for fertilizer. An acre of blue grass in the season
of 1909, when pastured with hogs at the rate of 14
hogs per acre for a period of 140 days, was worth,
after deducting the value of the corn used to sup-
plement the pasture, $18.80. An acre of clover
pastured by 12 hogs go days, under similar con-
ditions yielded $37.59; rape, oats and clover in
1909, 10 hogs for 78 days, $22.02; cowpeas, 12 hogs
for 32 days, $17.71; corn and cowpeas, 10 hogs for
32 days, $35.40. These figures speak for them-
selves.

While it is true that at different times and under
unusual conditions, which have been unfavorable
for live stock production, grain growing has seemed
more profitable, this is not true at present, nor will
it be permanently true until the various grain and
forage crops fed to stock come into more general
use in the human dietary. Some of the farm crops,
such as the various hay crops and coarse grains,
will never be very generally used for human food,
consequently they must always be employed in the
production of live stock. As long as these crops
are grown in a country, farm animals must be
raised.

If, according to popular belief, the increased popu-
lation eventually forces live stock production out,
Illinois lands may be used to produce crops suited
to human food. Under conditions which will pre-
vail for a great many decades, however, this is not
likely to occur. Statistics do not prove that as
population becomes more dense there is neces-
sarily a decrease in live stock. On this point a lot of
data collected by Professor Mumford is of par-
ticular interest. The following tables showing the
number of the various kinds of live stock, per capita,
for dates and countries indicated, are illuminating:

THE LIVE STOCK FIELD

Live Stock Per Capita

GERMANY
1810
TOESOS! 26). fal ee clave Mors le oho 0.0
Gaile! (teak as stents 0.25
RRNMIGEN ols ce epee dealer 0.15
SOAS a se ee ee ae 0.04.
SI CSEy ERR AIAEEUMA G0 Mi Cc ae 22
FRANCE
1852
Horses, mules and asses.. 0.10
RBS N rics di a Se i 0.16
‘SVAIGIO/ 2c eee EAP Oe A 0.14
LER TTS EES eae al peepee ee 0.03
SUE Wage o)e shane sta Saxe Seu) soe 0.93
DENMARK
1881
la@esesyy Shs selene Wome Ss OM7
ELINA P RS ea 0.74
“SANTEE aoe get eae ar ge aaa 0.27
SHIGE 0a Seager Ne ems eT 0.78
HOLLAND
1850
HOLS CSN 2 pays ae cee ee 0.08
EEO ho ee eee ae 0.36
SANT? — 5s a(s asks nee ev eae 0.07
SEED ys ors. ep esa See ee 0.25
ITALY
1852
PAOESES)) Gsciac 2a ace eee ern 0.03
PES! 0! shacks ta cca eee 0.16
SAMOS a. evar ephemera 0.08
ReOatS. Dur: had a. vend eae 0.06
Seria. oh 0 Le Abi cee we 0.29

1903
0.08

0.36
0.39
0.00
0.13

1908
0.09

0.19
0.18
0.03

0.44

1903
0.19

0.73
0.57
0.35

1897
0.06

0.32
0.23
0.18

1890
0.07

0.17
0.06
0.06
0.23

15

16 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

The full significance of these statistics is not ap-
preciated without the further statement that they
represent numerical values only. There has been
a very decided improvement in the quality of live
stock in the various countries named. A small
number of animals now with their increased ef-
ficiency equals a large number in former years. An
increase in numbers as well as an increase in their
eficiency is doubly significant. These statistics
will also suggest along what lines changes have
taken place in live stock production as population
becomes more dense.

There is a sense in which it is true that the live
stock per capita decreases. It is in the early his-
tory of a country when the population is small and
extensive systems of live stock production largely
constitute the agriculture of the country. In such
instances population frequently increased more
rapidly than live stock. When, however, the con-
ditions demand the establishment of intensive forms
of agriculture it appears, as in Germany, France,
Denmark, Holland, Italy and the British Isles, that
there is a tendency with but few exceptions, for live
stock per capita to increase rather than decrease.

I think the above pretty clearly establishes the
importance of live stock in farm life, and the aver-
age reader is probably convinced by this time that
live stock should not be abandoned in the United
States and that the thing to do is to so handle farm
animals that the returns will be larger. This can
be accomplished in a great many ways. In the
first place, the animals should be so handled as to
produce the largest amount of stable manure. This
stable manure should be so taken care of as to give
the largest possible increase in grain production
on the farms where made. The use of the manure

THE LIVE STOCK FIELD iF

spreader and the application of manure as soon as
available will all tend toward greater fertility of
farm lands and will result in larger net profit to the
agricultural population. If, in connection with all
these things, the need of more and better animals
is fully realized, the future of the agriculture of
America is assured. It does not pay to keep scrub
animals. They eat just as much, and in some cases
more, longer time is required for maturity and lower
prices must be accepted. Consequently, why not
get good breeding stock and reap the largest re-
ward? The profitable live stock are animals that
are well bred and well fed.

Some attention must also be given to keeping
animals in a thrifty, growing condition, from the
time they are born until. disposed of. A little
neglect at any period will result in a stunted con-
dition which will require large amounts of feed
and care to correct—in fact, negiect at any stage of
the game can never be fully made up, no matter
how much time and money is spent in trying to
do it.

Bear in mind, therefore that the live stock field
in the United States is comparatively unlimited,
that there are fortunes in raising live stock in con-
nection with general farming, for although the day
of the big stock ranch is past, there is more money
to be made and distributed among a larger number
of farmers than ever before; that the number of
first-class animals in the United States is not nearly
as large as it should be; that for the coming century,
at any rate, there is no probability of raising live
stock at a loss, if properly handled, for in connec-
tion with the raising of live stock, feeds are con-
sumed at home and permanent fertility of the land
is maintained.

CHAPTER II

Principles of Permanent Agriculture

The first requisite for a system of permanent
agriculture is some scientific and practical plan of
soil management which will permit the removal of
maximum yearly crops without permanently lower-
ing the productive capacity of the land. This con-
dition is one which has never been fully met in any
except some isolated instances in the United States.
In fact, it may be said that in only a few countries
in the entire world has this balance between pro-
duction and maintenance been so adjusted as to
make possible a permanent agriculture. In some
of the oldest countries of the world certain sec-
tions have been cultivated continuously since the
most remote times and are still productive. This
may be due to some special condition such as pre-
vails in the Nile valley, whereby the spring floods
bring down an annual fresh supply of rich soil,
which is deposited upon the surface, or it may be
due to the general practice of systems of agricul-
ture which tend toward soil preservation. For the
most part, however, the history of the oldest agri-
cultural regions is one of ultimate famine and star-
vation, because production did not keep pace with
the demand, and because soils were systematically
robbed of their power to produce maximum yields.
The conservation of all possible forms of fertility in
the soil is found in the practice of Chinese farmers
of today. Absolutely no scrap of vegetation or of
any substance containing organic matter which can

18

PRINCIPLES OF PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 19

be utilized in the fertilization of land is allowed to
go to waste in this country, and yet there is
scarcely a year when many deaths from starvation
do not occur.

In the face of this lack of sufficient production
even for maintaining life in the overcrowded popu-
lation of the empire, there are stretches of hundreds
of square miles of territory which all the evidence
indicates were once inhabited and which now do
not support any population, or at most only a few
nomadic herdsmen. These lands have evidently
been so depleted by unintelligent cropping at some
remote period that their abandonment became
necessary. Some method of restoring their lost
peeductivity is today called “the problem of
China,’ and has never yet been successfully worked
out. The history of India reports a succession of
famines in which millions of human beings have
perished from starvation in a single year. Even at
the present day there is never a year which does
not witness thousands of deaths from starvation.
The farmers of India live in the most pitiable con-
dition of poverty which is known today. They
have only enough to eat to maintain life at its
lowest ebb in the most prosperous years, so that the
least adverse crop condition brings about absolute
starvation. On the one time rich cotton land of
India, the production at present does not exceed
100 pounds per acre of cotton lint, while wheat and
other agricultural products yield accordingly. Rus-
sia, in spite of its enormous extent of agricultural
land and its normal surplus wheat production, has
its years of famine as well, and these in times past
have caused great suffering among the poor of that
country.

20 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING
SUCCESSFUL CONTINUOUS AGRICULTURE

Western Europe, as a whole, offers very good
examples of continued high production upon lands
that have been cultivated for more than a thousand
years. The farmers of this region were compelled,
generations ago, to face the question of soil main-
tenance, and they have gradually developed sys-
tems of agriculture which seem to be permanent
and which, in general, are in accordance with well-
known principles of agricultural science. The
United States is the newest of the world’s agricul-
tural regions, yet it, too, has encountered the prob-
lems arising from depleted soils and the consequent
lowering of crop production below the limits of
profitable farming. Even in our new land, which
was virgin soil when many of the still productive
European fields had been tilled thousands of years,
we have our large areas of abandoned land which
was once highly productive, but which was man-
aged in an unintelligent manner until the remain-
ing fertility was no longer sufficient to produce crops
which would pay for the cost of production. The old
fields of the south were abandoned because they
would no longer produce tobacco and cotton in
sufficient quantities to pay the planter for his labor.
New England and the north Atlantic states have
thousands of farms which have been abandoned
and which were deserted because of decreased pro-
duction and because of the unlimited amount of
rich lands in the West. In Maryland and Virginia
today land can be purchased within 20 miles of the
national capitol for from $1.50 to $15 per acre,
which 100 years ago composed the rich tobacco
plantations of this country, yet these farms were
deserted, or practically so, because they could no

PRINCIPLES OF PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 21

longer be made to pay dividends on a reasonable
valuation.

SOIL MAINTENANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The questions pe1taining to soil management and
soil fertility are the most unsatisfactory to discuss
of any phase of agricultural science. They offer
the most complex problems and are influenced by
the most widely varying factors of any phase of
agriculture. These questions have occupied the at-
tention of writers and scientists since the days of
the Roman republic. The earliest agricultural in-
vestigators and writers gave especial attention to
this phase of the science, and various infallible
formulas have been promulgated to perpetuate
maximum production. One of the oldest theories
for the maintenance of maximum production is the
doctrine of continuous culture advocated by Jethro
Tull of England. By deep plowing and continuous
intensive cultivation of the soil this gentleman was
able to produce large crops, without rotation and
without the addition of any outside material for a
considerable number of years, upon the same plot
of land, and he concluded from this, and widely pub-
lished the conclusion, that “tillage is manure,” and
that thorough cultivation is all that is needed to
produce maximum crops indefinitely.

The fact is as true today as it was then that till-
age of this sort is an absolutely correct agricultural
practice, but the idea that this alone suffices to
maintain fertility was long ago abandoned. With
the advance of science, it became possible to
analyze the different soils and to determine accu-
rately not only the different elements contained
therein, but to compute exactly in what propor-

22 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

tions they occur. It also became possible to an-
alyze the different plants and grains and to deter-
mine just what elements they contain and in just
what proportions. It was then reasoned and widely
announced that by analyzing any given soil, and
comparing its contents with the amounts of these
same elements removed by each crop, it could be
determined exactly how many crops could be grown
upon any piece of land without the addition of any
kind of fertilizer. ‘This theory was correct in part,
for it can be accurately determined exactly how
much nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash and other
constituents of plants are contained in any class of
soil. The percentage of this plant food which is
actually available for the use of plants and is in
such mechanical and chemical condition as to be
used by them, however, cannot be determined by
the wisest chemist. The influence of various soil
bacteria, some harmful and others beneficial, is
knowledge which has been gained during the past
decade, and it is probable that our knowledge of
these factors is only rudimentary.

The rotation of crops has been widely taught as
offering the solution of the problem of soil fertility.
Intelligent crop rotations are the rule in the most
progressive farming districts of the United States
today, and much larger yields are always obtained
than where a one-crop system is followed. Where
a one-crop system is necessary, as has been the
case in some exclusive grain-growing districts, the
fallowing of the land every three or four years has
been thought by many to be a means of restoring
lost fertility, because the crops secured from these
fallowed fields are always greater than those planted
preceding fallowing. Under these conditions, fal-
lowing is a good practice, and the rotation of crops

PRINCIPLES OF PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 23

in the mixed-farming districts is absolutely essen-
tial to intelligent farm management. Yet none of
these in itself restores anything to the soil from
which vast quantities of material have been taken.
imine mecre rotation of crops, becalise it tends te
larger production, actually wears out the soil faster,
the large crops thus grown taking away more of
the available fertility than a small crop would do.
Rotation in itself tends to exhaust the soil faster
than would otherwise be done.

PRINCIPLES OF SOIL MAINTENANCE

There are certain principles and practices, how-
ever, which so far have stood the test of time and
which are now believed to make possible a per-
manent agriculture, while at the same time produc-
ing constantly increasing crops annually, and by
means of which the fertility of most land may not
only be maintained, but constantly increased. The
three elements which are most likely to become
deficient in the soil and which are absolutely neces-
‘sary to the growth of the plants are nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid and potash. Several other elements are
used in the growth of the plant in small quantities,
but they usually occur in sufficient amounts in all
soils, with the exception of calcium, and this can be
added in the form of land plaster or common lime.
Most American soils contain sufficient potash to last
for several hundred years, although occasionally
there are circumstances which justify the addition
of this element to the soil. Generally speaking, the
fertility problem narrows itself down to the main-
tenance of the supply of nitrogen and phosphorus.

Humus is decayed organic matter, the function of
which is partly chemical and partly mechanical,

24 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

This decay forms certain acids, and causes certain
chemical reactions which serve to render available
to the use of the plant roots, plant food already
present. Its mechanical action, by adding bulk to
the soil, keeps the fine soil particles from running
together into a close compact mass when wet, pro-
vides air and water spaces, and enables the farmer
to keep the soil in a condition of good tilth.

SYSTEMS OF SOIL MANAGEMENT

A system of soil management which seems to
make for a permanent agriculture has been widely
exploited in recent years by means of which grain
farming alone can be continuously followed. This
system demands the growth of leguminous crops
and the plowing under of large quantities of legu-
minous vegetation in order to supply the nitrogen
and the necessary humus, while the application of
ground phosphate rock, steamed ground bone or
phosphorus in some of its various available forms
are depended upon to supply the phosphorous con-
tent. Lime can be added as needed to correct the acid
condition of the soil and maximum crops of grain
and hay can be produced apparently indefinitely.
This plan has its adherents, and where it is clearly
an advantage to pursue this type of farming the
plan cannot be intelligently criticized. The other
system of soil maintenance demands the keeping of
live stock to the extent of the farm’s capacity, the
marketing, through the medium of fattened stock, of
most of the grain and hay grown upon the land and
the return to the soil of all the manure made by the
live stock.

At all periods of agricultural history, no matter
what new theories or fads have been advanced or

Sr 6 eng,

PRINCIPLES OF PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 25

advised for maintaining soil fertility, there has been
a definite and well-established connection between
live stock and soil maintenance. Dr. E. H. Jenkins
of the Connecticut experiment station, after having
spent a lifetime in the investigation of soil problems
and fertilizers, said that the only recommendation he
could make, with confidence, was that barnyard
manure is good to put upon land. While it is not to
be argued that a permanent agriculture is not pos-
sible without live stock, it is true that much of the
best agriculture of western Europe includes the
keeping of a large number of animals, and it is
equally true that some of the most poverty-stricken
countries in the world, with the poorest types of
agriculture, keep relatively few farm animals. Rus-
sia, with all her vast agricultural domain, has very
few meat or milk-producing animals and her agri-
culture today does not include, to any particular
extent, the application of manure to the land. All
of her agricultural poverty cannot be attributed to
this fact, for the plowing is poorly done with very
crude implements, but her wheat yield of only
8% bushels per acre can in a large part be at-
tributed to this lack of live stock or of anything to
take its place in maintaining fertility. Fallowing
is practiced, but it alone has not been found suf-
ficient. Although the agriculture of India includes
the keeping of large numbers of animals, there is
little or no relation between this live stock and the
soil, for the reason. that the people are driven in
their poverty to using the dried manure of the
animals for fuel, and, therefore, little or none of it
is ever returned to the soil.

The abandoned lands of the United States all lie
in regions where stock raising either never was a
dominating feature or where the value of manure

26 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

was not recognized, and the stock industry was
allowed to decline along with the crop production.
Every instance of the building up of these worn-
out soils has included either the keeping of increas-
ing numbers of live stock and the growth of legu-
minous plants, or the heavy use of commercial
fertilizers purchased at a relatively high rate in the
market. The time has come when the American
farmer must choose some definite system by which
he can procure larger crops than he is doing at
present and at the same time return to the soil
plant food which will tend to continually increase
the productive capacity of the soil, so that future
generations will receive the land not in a depleted
condition, but capable of producing more and more
in order to keep pace with the growing demands
of the nation for agricultural products.

LIVE STOCK SUPPLY

Under certain conditions, it may be true that a
system of exclusive grain farming is necessary and
is best suited to the surroundings, but on the large
majority of the American farms today, there is a
larger field for live stock and the type of farming
which its keeping implies than there has been at any
previous time in our history. There is a greater de-
mand today for meat, for dairy products, for wool
and for work animals than there ever was before.
Population is increasing much more rapidly than
our agricultural production, and farm products of
all kinds will undoubtedly be in constantly stronger
demand. The extremely high prices realized in
recent years for all classes of meat-producing
animals is caused by a marked shortage in the supply
of these animals in the United States. The supply

PRINCIPLES OF PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 27

of beef cattle has not increased since 1900, and at
times has shown an absolute decline of at least
2,000,000 head over the number held in 1900. The
same is true of sheep, while the supply of hogs has
fluctuated from about the number held in 1900 to
several millions less than that. All of this is in the
face of a 20 per cent increase in the country’s popu-
lation and its consequent consuming capacity. The
time was never more opportune for the extension
of the live stock industry than at present, and the

A NORTHWESTERN FARM GRANARY

absolute necessity exists for an immediate tremen-
dous increase of the number of farm animals in this
country. This demand comes from the crying need
of the soil for the manure produced from live stock
farming on the one hand and from the insistent
demands of the market for more and more animals
on the other hand. It should not be argued that
all farms should become exclusively producers of
live stock, and it is worse than idle to suggest that

28 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

no grain should be marketed from American farms.
The acreage devoted to the growing of grain for
the market can never be less than it is at present,
and must almost inevitably become greater because
of the growing yearly demand for wheat, but keen
discrimination should be used in choosing those
locations which are best suited to grain production.
Live stock farming should not be abandoned in
favor of exclusive grain farming under conditions
where it can be proved even equally as profitable.
These differences in the types of farming must be
worked out on each individual farm and not on an
extensive scale for any given locality.

SINGLE SYSTEM BAD POLICY

No state can afford to rest her future upon any
single system of farming. There are several types
of live stock husbandry which are more profit-
able than grain farming, which make not only for
a permanent agriculture, but for a higher type of
country life and a more enduring civilization. There
are several factors aside from the actual returns per
acre in dollars and cents which should be consid-
ered in determining the relative merits of live stock
and grain farming. It is reasonably certain that
the best type of agriculture and the highest ideals
of country life are not possible without the keeping
of farm animals. The development of a more in-
telligent citizenship will rest very largely upon the
possibility of high standards of living among coun-
try people. The strongest personal factor which
has entered into the history of American agricul-
ture has been the tendency of the ablest and most
intelligent country boys to forsake the farm for
city life and the professions at the earliest oppor-

PRINCIPLES OF PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 29

tunity. This tendency is being overcome in a con-
siderable measure at present, but its ultimate
solution demands a type of agriculture which
will require a high degree of intelligence and
will necessitate the exercising of mental and
executive ability equal to that demanded by the
best professional work. American agriculture may
well heed the example of English husbandry in this
respect. British and American farming will always
differ, in that in England farming is essentially an
occupation of the aristocracy, while American agri-
culture depends for its development upon the small
landowner. The feature which it is desirable for
American agriculture to adopt from the English is
the tendency of transmitting not only the land, but
the farming practices and experiences of one
generation to each succeeding generation, so
that one definite system may -.be followed
out in all its details through many generations in
the same family. The development of some of the
famous breeds and families of cattle has been
brought about by this English custom of training
the son to continue the father’s work. Agriculture
of this type has never been developed under any
condition which does not include a large proportion
of live stock husbandry. On the other hand, sys-
tems of exclusive grain farming have always tended
toward a relatively low plane of country life, and in
the last analysis, toward peasant farming.

CONSIDERATIONS OF FARM LABOR

The farm labor question is one of the most seri-
ous which now confronts the American farmer.
One needs to look no further for evidence of this
problem than the cry which goes up annually from

30 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

the great wheat section of the United States for
thousands of harvest hands. This extra supply of
help, which is needed for only a short period of the
year, is not available in the grain regions, and must
always be imported from far-away cities and com-
munities having a surplus of labor. There is an
annual exodus of tens of thousands of men from
the centers of population into the grain sections at
harvest time and back again upon the approach of
cold weather, when the demand for their services
suddenly ceases. This tends to create an itinerant
class of farm laborers, and is undoubtedly a prolific
source of the class of American society known as
the hobo. Live stock farming, on the contrary,
furnishes the opportunity for the continuous re-
munerative employment for large numbers of in-
telligent laborers throughout the entire year. It
tends to equalize the labor supply in such a way
that the farmer will usually have a sufficient num-
ber of men at his command during the extremely
busy seasons of the year, because he has work
enough to give employment during the slack sea-
son also. The keeping of live stock in connection
with general farming thus make both for the welfare
of the farmer and the laborer.

The establishment of particular systems of live
stock farming which do not suit the times or con-
ditions is not to be advocated. Some forms of
stock production should be and undoubtedly will
be abandoned. Others should be largely extended
and developed. By the intelligent rotation of
crops, in connection with live stock farming which
returns to the soil the largest possible amount of
fertility and organic material, the producing
capacity of the American farm must be made to
continually increase. These larger crops, in return,

PRINCIPLES OF PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 31

will support greater numbers of live stock, and the
process of building up the producing power of the
land on the one hand and increasing the efficiency
of farm animals by careful selection and breeding
on the other, will tend toward a profitable and per-
manent live stock industry in America. It is prob-
ably true that occasionally plant food in some form
will have to be purchased from the outside, because
the fertility of the farm cannot be maintained sim-
ply by returning to the land the manure made by
live stock fed upon crops grown upon the land. It
is equally true, however, that most systems of live
stock farming demand the purchase of vastly less
plant food than is required by any system of grain
farming. Raise good crops, but use them for mak-
ing better stock. Then the transfer of plant food
will be small and the profits from the farm be more
satisfactory, more profitable, more uplifting, and
the land will give out its fat with readiness and
with unheard of liberality.

CHAPTER III
Agricultural Situation in the East

With the advent of the white man in America,
farming was confined to the land along the At-
lantic coast, from Florida to Maine, inclusive. The
soil was fertile and responded readily to cultivation.
There seemed to be little necessity for giving any
particular attention to the maintenance of soil fer-
tility. As soon as a field became nonproductive it
was abandoned and new land further west was
taken up. This continued as population increased.
The younger generation crossed the Allegheny
mountains and settled in the fertile Ohio valleys.
The migration continued westward, until now al-
most all of the available lands in the United States
are occupied. The bringing of new territory under
cultivation maintained the general average produc-
tion of the country, so that until recently it was
difficult to realize that the older soils were decreas-
ing very rapidly in fertility. In fact, today, if
statistics alone are relied upon, it would be difficult
to convince anyone that soils are wearing out. The
taking up of new land, the improvement of seed
and the fact that cultivation is more thoroughly
understood, has resulted in larger yields per acre
for all the leading crops than ever before noted in
the history of the country. Of course, in the older
settled sections of New England and all along the
Atlantic coast, it is perfectly evident that the soil
is not as productive as it was formerly, but taking
the country as a whole, this depletion could not be
proved.

It has become evident, however, that the farms of

32

‘AGRICULTURAL SITUATION IN THE EAST 33

New England, New York, New Jersey and the South
are more or less unproductive. This, as stated be-
fore, has been brought about by a disregard of
some of the primary principles of soil treatment.
As the demand for land has become greater, atten-
tion is being given to the worn-out farms in the
East, and it is gratifying to note that, intelligently
handled, these farms are once more becoming very
productive. The tide is being turned and many
farmers are going East, buying abandoned farms
and renovating them. That these soils under proper
treatment can be made productive has been so
fully demonstrated that there can be no argument
on that point. In Maine, Massachusetts, Connecti-
cut, New York and Pennsylvania there are today
farms which are as productive as any on the face
of the earth. Originally, they were no more fertile
than thousands now considered unprofitable. The
owners, however, have studied the problem thor-
oughly, have applied business methods, have used
the latest discoveries of science and practice, have
treated the soils so that they not only are in better
tilth, but produce crops that are record breakers.
It will be recalled that in 1908 a Connecticut farmer
was awarded the champion prize for the largest
yield of corn in the United States from an acre.
The tobacco fields of Connecticut and Massa-
chusetts are noted for their productivity. The po-
tato fields of Maine have, for years, been a source
of great profit. In Pennsylvania at least one grain
farmer is producing annual yields ranging around
Too bushels per acre. The truck lands of New
Jersey are very productive. Georgia has several
exceedingly productive and profitable peach or-
chards. Thus it happens that many farmers are
looking to the East for permanent homes.

34 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

The location of land adjacent to the Atlantic
ocean is especially desirable because of the prox-
imity to great market centers like New York, Bos-
ton, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Jacksonville.

SOIL MOISTURE MEASURES PRODUCTION

The productive capacity of the soil 1s measured
largely by its water-holding capacity. True, every
soil must contain a certain amount of plant food,
but if it does not have the capacity to absorb and
retain moisture so that this will be available during
the period of plant development, it cannot be highly
profitable. The treatment, therefore, of these
abandoned soils should be such as to increase their
water-holding capacity.

The quickest and best way to increase this water-
holding capacity is to fill the land with humus.
This is secured primarily in two ways. First, by
growing leguminous crops, such as cowpeas,
clovers, vetch, etc., and turning these under. I,
allied with this growing of leguminous crops, live
stock farming is practiced, it will not be many
years before the Atlantic coast states will be in-
finitely more productive, from an agricultural
standpoint, than at present. While it may not be
entirely profitable to raise beef cattle, the locality
is especially suited to dairying, to the raising of
poultry, and to the raising of hogs in connection
with dairying. The market for dairy products is
almost unlimited and the prices are the best. The
comparatively short distance from the producer to
the consumer eliminates the matter of expensive
freight and express rates. Consequently, it is a
source of great encouragement to know that the
so-called unproductive farms of the East may be

AGRICULTURAL SITUATION IN THE EAST 35

rendered very profitable by the raising of live stock
and the growing of leguminous crops. These crops
may either be turned under or may be fed to the
farm stock. The latter procedure, of course, is the
logical and common-sense one. The judicious ap-
plication of a certain amount of commercial fer-
tilizer will also assist.

The great importance of soil moisture can be no
better illustrated than to remember that in order
to produce a ton of dry hay on an acre of land it is
necessary that the grass have approximately 500
tons of water. In order to supply this enormous
quantity, the soil must not only be in condition to
absorb and hold water well, but it must be porous
enough to permit water to flow freely from one soil
‘grain to another. The presence of large quantities
of decaying organic matter, ordinarily termed
humus, adds enormously to the water-holding
capacity of the soil. One ton of humus will absorb
two tons of water and give it up readily to grow-
ing crops. The shrinkage of the particles of de-
caying organic matter and the consequent loosen-
ing of soil grains keeps the soil open and porous.

Above and beyond all this, humus of good qual-
ity is exceedingly rich, both in nitrogen and in
mineral plant food. The first step, therefore, to
renovating worn-out soil is to give it an abundant
supply of humus. Perhaps the best source of
humus is stable manure, especially when animals
ate fed foods rich in nitrogen. Even poor barn-
yard manure has considerable value because of the
humus it contains.

TILLAGE OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE

Careful tillage is another problem which must
enter into the renovation of worn-out soil. In

36 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

many parts of the country the land is plowed only
three or four inches deep. Below the plow the soil
becomes sour, densely packed and unfit for plant
roots. When such soils are plowed deeply and
this sour subsoil is mixed with the upper portion,
the first effect is to retard plant growth. This,
however, must not be placed against deep plowing.
A better method is to plow a little dgeper each year
until the land is annually stirred to a depth of eight
or ten inches. This gives a deep layer well adapted
to supporting plant life. When new land, that is,
land which has been undisturbed for a number of
years, is broken up it is always best to plow deep
from the beginning. It is never wise to plow the
same depth twice in succession. In general, fall
plowing should be eight, nine or ten inches deep
and spring plowing five to seven inches. Do not
forget that there are special cases when this rule
does not apply. Ground may be plowed shallower
or even deeper to get best results. The object of
plowing is to loosen the soil, get the air into it,
turn under manure, etc. It is also the prime factor
in the killing of weeds.

All soils except those quite sandy are injured if
handled when wet. Nothing is more destructive
or disastrous to a clay soil than treating it when
it contains an excess of moisture. This must be
looking after in all parts of the Eastern country
where the subsoil is clay. Of course, some sections
are sandy and this matter can be disregarded more
or less. The best time to plow is when the land
contains just enough moisture so that it will break
up mellow. Of course, if continuous rains follow
plowing little harm is done, but if wet land is
turned up during a dry, sunny period the produc-
tive capacity will be greatly decreased,

AGRICULTURAL SITUATION IN THE EAST a7

After the plowing is thoroughly done the next
important thing that the Eastern farmer must look
out for, as noted before, is supplying the humus.
Make all the stable manure you can, and to do this
you must keep all the stock that you possibly can.
Preserve your stable manure so it will be well
rotted before it is applied. Do not let it stand out
in the open where rains will leach out the soluble
elements. An intelligent rotation of crops must be
practiced even where manure is abundant and
where leguminous crops are grown freely. If the
land is seeded to timothy or clover and allowed to
remain for two or three years, the upper layers will
become well filled with plant roots so that when
the sod is finally broken the soil will be in fine
condition. If alfalfa is grown, and it can be in
many parts of the Eastern section, nothing is better
for renovating a soil. Its roots are long and pene-
trate to a great depth. It furnishes a forage that
is a first-class dairy feed and also is excellent for
raising hogs and feeding to poultry.

GREEN AND BARNYARD MANURES

The practice of plowing under green manures is
not very general and probably never will be along
the Atlantic coast, but it can be used to advantage
in some cases. The chief objection, however, in
this country is that the green crop when plowed
under is apt to ferment and produce an acid in the
soil. Itis generally desirable to plow the green crop
under and then seed the land to some winter crop.
In New Jersey and Georgia crimson clover is used
to good advantage. This particular clover stores
up large amounts of nitrogen. It should be sown
in July in the North and in September in the South.

38 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Sometimes it fails, because the soil is not in-
oculated with the proper bacteria. Inoculated soil
may be applied and this defect corrected. This
crop also furnishes valuable winter pasturage for
dairy cows and for hogs throughout the Southern
territory. In Maryland, and in some other states,
the practice of sowing crimson clover seed in corn
just before the last plowing has given excellent re-
sults. In the spring the clover is plowed under
and another crop of corn planted. Yields of corn
have been increased from 35 to 50 bushels per acre
in ten years by this practice. Vetches also do well,
particularly in the South. Rye is a good crop to use
in renovating soils, and it will grow on poor land,
will make a good winter and spring pasture and
can also be used as a soiling crop. It adds con-
siderable humus to the soil, but does not, however,
add nitrogen as do the legumes.

Possibly the best way to build up a worn-out soil
where large quantities of barnyard manure are not
available is to not only grow forage crops but buy
grain to feed with them and return all the manure
to the land. This, of course, cannot be done unless
live stock farming is practiced. Dairying probably
is the best system that can be practiced in the East.
In this connection, of course, poultry and hogs can
be raised with profit. Another form is to grow a
succession of pasture crops for hogs. Keep the
hogs on these pastures and feed them a light grain
ration. Where corn can be grown, and it does
grow well along the Atlantic coast if properly
treated, plant enough for the pigs and for the dairy
cattle. Sow either cowpeas, crimson clover or rye
in the corn land each year. The two latter furnish
winter pasture for pigs and result in increased
yields from year to year. Sow oats in early spring,

AGRICULTURAL SITUATION IN THE EAST 39

follow with rye sown in August and follow this
with sorghum the following spring. In September
sow this sorghum field to rye again and the next
spring sow either sorghum or cowpeas. A four-
year rotation may be established by raising po-
tatoes one year. If these crops are all utilized and
if the hogs and cattle are fed a little grain in the
meantime, this soil will improve. Of course, where
the land is clay it must not be pastured when wet.
This system of farming takes practically nothing
from the land, but does add a great deal to it.

The Department of Agriculture, after carefully
studying all phases of the soil fertility problem in
the older section of the United States, concludes
that the problem is not so much one of plant food
as it is of soil treatment. Consequently, while it
may be desirable to occasionally add plant food,
the chief thought should be given to the supplying
of the soil with humus and to so treating the land
that it will be in the best possible mechanical con-
dition. The department reaches the conclusion
that the results of its investigation seem to indicate
that the actual amount of water a soil can furnish
the plant, irrespective of the percentage of water
actually present in the soil, has a very important
influence on yield. When the supply of water is
inadequate to the need of the plant it is impossible
for the nutritive solutions to be transferred to the
roots. If water be not abundant, no matter how
rich the soil may be in plant food, large yields can-
not be secured.

Summing up the whole situation in New Eng-
land and the Atlantic coast states, the success of
agriculture in that region will be measured by the
extent to which the raising of live stock is practiced,
the attention given to the increasing of humus

40 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

in the soil and the care with which the soils are
cultivated. There is no reason why the so-called
abandoned or unproductive farms of New England
and the old middle states may not eventually be
made even more profitable than the farms in the
great central West where the soil was originally
much richer.

CHAPTER TV

Southern Agriculture Needs Farm Animals
THE ONE-CROP IDEA

For years the Southern farmer has realized that
something is wrong with the agriculture of his sec-
tion. The trouble began a good many years ago
along the Atlantic seaboard when the soil which
had been brought under cultivation by the early
settlers of that region began to yield smaller re-
turns of cotton and tobacco each year, until the
crop harvested from the land would scarcely pay
for the labor and expense necessary to produce the
Crop izater, a. similar discontent arose in the
enormous southern empire which stretches away
to the west, and extends practically to the Rio
Caanee civer. In part of this region, the trouble
came also from soil depletion, with its attendant
necessity for abandoning the old fields and bring-
ing new lands into cultivation; in other parts, it
came from the inroads of crop pests, notably the
boll weevil, in its destructive attack upon the
cotton crop. Whatever was the specific agency
which brought about unprofitable agricultural con-
ditions, the trouble has always been traceable to
the big underlying principle of southern agricul-
ture, namely, the one-crop system. Ever since the
days of the civil war, the South has staked its agri-
cultural welfare upon a single-crop basis. In some
sections this crop has been cotton, in others to-
bacco, and in still others rice or sugar cane, but the
principle has been the same—that of expending

41

42 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

the entire energy in the production of one thing,
and depending upon the open markets for the pur-
chase of everything else.

This one-crop system was developed principally
by the effects of the civil war and the stern necessity
which the South faced in 1865 for establishing at
once some form of industry which would afford
living conditions to the thousands of people whose
property had been devastated by the four years of
warfare. Previous to that time, southern agricul-
ture had been devoted in considerable measure to
the production of various kinds of crops. In the
early colonial days, land was about the cheapest
imaginable commodity, while labor was the scarcest
and most expensive. Crops grew with little or no
trouble to the farmer on the rich virgin land, but
the main question was how to get these crops cul-
tivated and harvested. This imperative necessity
for labor developed slavery in the South while with-
drawing it from the North, and firmly fastened this
institution upon the southern planters. The num-
ber of negroes increased very rapidly, much faster
in proportion than the southern landowners, so
that in the course of years the planters found them-
selves with a surplus of labor, more than they
needed for the lands under cultivation. If their
fields showed any signs of decreasing fertility, as
many of them began to do at this time, the simplest
and easiest remedy was to move on to new uncul-
tivated lands, using slave labor in clearing away
the timber and thus subduing rich new areas of
fertile soil, and continuing the production of large
crops. It was upon this kind of a basis that the
settlement of Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louis-
iana and Texas was accomplished. The very nature
of the times and conditions required that these

SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE NEEDS FARM ANIMALS 43

planters should produce nearly everything that
they and their slaves required, because they were
generally far removed from centers of population,
railroads had not been built, and there was little
or no opportunity for extensive importation of food-
stuffs and feed for their live stock. Every well-
managed plantation was a principality of its own
where everything the inhabitants ate, drank or
wore was produced. The slaves even made shoes
and hats. Ifa planter desired to build a house, he
manufactured his own brick, and the construction
was done by his slaves, under his supervision.

The war put an end to this independent condi-
tion for all time and drove the southern farmers to
a one-crop basis, at the same time developing a
credit system which has effectually succeeded ever
since in keeping the South upon this one-crop foun-
dation. For 40 years the southern planter has pur-
chased from the North and West nearly all his
corn, which he could easily produce at one-quarter
the cost. He has purchased all his flour at $6 per
barrel which he could produce upon his own land
for $2; all his meat at 10 cents a pound, which he
could faise for 2 or 3 cents, and nearly all of the
thousands of mules necessary to his operations
have been brought from the North at $200 a head,
when he could just as well have raised them for $75.

The one-crop idea has been responsible for all
this purchase of the necessaries of life, while at the
same time everything the southern farmers pro-
duced was shipped away in the form of tobacco, or
cotton to the mills and factories of the North and
of Europe. In all these 40 years the southern
farmer, as a class, has annually shipped away
thousands of tons of the raw material produced
upon his land and has returned little or nothing

44 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

to the soil, except varying amounts of commercial
fertilizer which in recent years he has been com-
pelled to use in order to produce a crop. It is a
mathematical certainty that continued subtraction
from a definite amount will, in time, exhaust the
original amount. This is the plan on which the
southern farmer has worked. After all, or nearly
all, of the virgin land had been brought under cul-
tivation, he had only a stated amount of soil fer-
tility. Every year for 40 years he has withdrawn
from this stated amount all he was able to with-
draw in the form of heavy crops, with the result
that the original amount of fertility has been very
materially decreased throughout the entire South,
and, in thousands of instances, has been so nearly
exhausted that farming is no longer profitable.
There may have been here and there, in individual
instances, notable exceptions to this statement, but
broadly speaking of the South as a whole, this is
an accurate statement of the situation up to within
very recent years.

READJUSTMENT TAKING PLACE

A few years ago, however, signs of a readjust-
ment of southern farm practice became evident in
various sections. In some instances this was the
result of the depleted soil which had been continu-
ously farmed until the fertility it contained had
become low and from which the humus had been
long ago removed, so that the soil was lifeless and
no longer responded in paying proportions to the
use of commercial fertilizers. In the far Southwest
and in the rich black lands of the Louisiana delta,
where the original fertility of the soil had not yet
been exhausted, this demand for the changed prac-

SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE NEEDS FARM ANIMALS 45

tice resulted from the inroads of the cotton boll-
weevil, against which no method of combat was
known, except by changing the crop. Whatever the
cause, it has developed in the minds of the leaders
in southern agriculture the idea that the basic
trouble lies in the one-crop system and the realiza-
tion that the remedy for the South’s agricultural
ills is the establishment of a diversified system of
farming, which shall include the extensive grow-
ing of leguminous crops, the feeding of large num-
bers of farm animals, and the return to the soil of
the plant food and humus this produces, for build-
ing up the soil to its original condition of pro-
ductiveness.

A few years ago when the soil of a sloping field
had been so robbed of its humus that the heavy
rains began to wash enormous gullies through the
hillsides and carry away into the streams all the top
soil which the system of soil robbing had left, the
remedy was to build terraces at intervals at right
angles to the slope in order to arrest this removal
of the soil by floods. The new Southern agricul-
ture of today knows that the real remedy for this
condition lies in planting that sloping field to clover
or alfalfa or cowpeas or some other of the many
rank growing forage crops which readily grow in
such abundance throughout the whole South. The
heavy vegetation thus produced effectually stops
the action of flood waters. The busy soil microbes,
working at the roots of the legumes, collect great
stores of nitrogen from the air and add it to the
soil’s producing power, and when after a few years
the farmer plows under this heavy growth, it adds
great stores of humus, and marks a long step in
bringing the field back to its original rich condi-
tion.

46 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Meanwhile, he has pastured cattle, sheep or hogs
throughout the year, winter as well as summer,
upon his field, and has realized from them a greater
profit than the field originally brought him when
he applied commercial fertilizer and planted tobacco
or cotton. The new South is realizing more and
more the fact that it needs more good home-raised
farm animals. Not only does it need greater num-

SELF-FEEDER FOR A MISSOURI FARM

bers, but it needs higher quality and increased ef-
ficiency in every class of domestic animals. The
day has gone in the South as well as in other sec-
tions of the country when horses of no particular
type or breeding are profitable to raise, when a
steer which must be kept until it is four or five
years old to be brought to marketable condition
is a paying proposition, or when the razor-back type
of hog can be profitably produced even in Southern
canebrakes.

SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE NEEDS FARM ANIMALS 47
TOTAL PRODUCTION WILL INCREASE

In order to produce these diversified crops and to
increase materially the number of farm animals
raised, it should not be assumed that the output of
cotton and tobacco need be decreased. On the other
hand, it should constantly grow larger. The South can
add enormously to its cotton crop without bringing
into cultivation a single additional acre, and at the
same time reduce the cost of production. It must
do this by increasing the efficiency of each farm
unit. The most accurate available figures appear-
ing upon this subject are those furnished by the
United States Department of Agriculture. These
figures show that in 1900 Georgia, Mississippi and
Iowa had approximately each the same number of |
ima tamilies, Lhe value of the farm products
grown by these farm families in Georgia was $104,-
000,000, in Mississippi $102,000,000 and in lowa
$365,000,000. In other words, each farm family in
Iowa produced nearly four times as much wealth
as the family in Mississippi or Georgia. In pro-
ducing these crops, Georgia spent $5,700,000 for
commercial fertilizer, Mississippi spent $932,000,
while Iowa spent but $337,190. In other words, -
while Iowa produced four times the farm wealth
that Georgia produced, Georgia spent 60 times as
much to raise each dollar’s worth of produce as
Iowa did. The significance of these figures is fur-
ther illustrated when it is stated that, while Georgia
owns but $33,000,000 worth of live stock, Iowa has
$272,000,000 worth. These figures in themselves,
without further comment, should serve to point
to the Southern farmer the way out of his agricul-
tural wilderness. In all the history of agriculture
the connection between maximum crops and a high

A8 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

degree of soil fertility, on the one hand, and the keep-
ing of farm animals and the return to the soil of the
manure produced by them, on the other, has always
been apparent, and nowhere is it more forcibly il-
lustrated than in an examination of agriculture in
the South. The Iowa farmer returns to his soil
the fertility produced by his live stock. The South-
ern farmer ships all this plant food away. That is
the whole story.

In every section where it has become necessary,
for any reason, to change the established system of
agriculture, there have always been apologists for
the old order of things, who have advanced
local conditions as excuses for continuing the
pernicious system of farm practice. The South
has been unfortunately afflicted with its apologists
of this nature. It has been argued that the South
is not primarily adapted to live stock producing,
that it hasn’t the feeding nor the marketing facil-
ities and that its climate is not suitable. All these
excuses have in turn been proved fallacious. The
most discouraging hindrance to southern cattle
growing, until very recent years, has been the in-
roads which Texas fever has made on native south-
ern cattle. This disease, however, is now thor-
oughly under control, and its absolute eradication
is but a matter of a few years at the (mee
Any southern farmer can, with a minimum of ex-
pense and labor, rid his herd of Texas fever and
keep it free indefinitely. This disease is no longer
necessarily a hindrance to cattle growing. The entire
South: has a climate in which it is rarely neces-
sary to protect cattle in winter. There is abundance
of forage and plenty of water. The southern cattle
grower has none of the severe drawbacks with
which the northwestern ranchman has to contend.

SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE NEEDS FARM ANIMALS 49

The forage which grows wild, in the old field and
waste lands of the South, and annually goes to
waste there, would protect the cattle of the entire
western ranges from winter starvation, which so
frequently faces them now. For concentrated
feeds and grain, the natural advantages of the South
excel those of the best feeding districts in the north-
ern Mississippi valley. The South, in spite of its
record of only 14 to 16 bushels of corn per acre as
an average, holds also the record for some of the
highest acre yields ever produced in the world. The
reason that the South buys corn from the North is
not because of the inability of the southern soil
and climate to produce this crop in tremendous
quantities, but because of the absolute indifference
and bad agricultural practice of the southern
farmers. |

SOUTHERN FEEDS AND FORAGES

There are millions of tons of cottonseed an-
nually produced. Thirty years ago this by-product
of cotton raising was considered a nuisance, and
one of the problems of cotton gin owners was how
to dispose of it. It was customary at that time to
set fire to the large heaps which accumulated near
the cotton gin and get rid of it in this manner.
Finally someone began to use the half-decayed
material from these cottonseed heaps for fertilizer,
and found that it had considerable value for this
purpose. Later it was found that the oil which
could be extracted from cottonseed had many com-
mercial uses, while the material left after pressing
out the oil was eaten with great relish by live stock,
and thus instead of being a waste product, cotton-
seed had come to have a definite recognized value as

5o PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

a live stock food. It has steadily advanced in value
from $3 to $5 a ton up through a steadily increas-
ing scale until it has reached at times as high as
$30 per ton. In 1909 the cottonseed crop of the
South was valued at over $150,000,000. The oil
meal cake made from cottonseed is one of the best
meat and milk-producing feeds known. Yet most
of this enormous amount is now shipped North
or to Europe and fed there, its ultimate fertilizing
value being lost to the southern fields and gained
by the land upon which the feeding is done.

At the same time that thousands of tons of valu-
able forage are being allowed to waste, and that
these millions of dollars worth of rich, concen-
trated feed are being shipped from the South, the
packing houses at Kansas City, Chicago, Omaha
and St. Louis are shipping into the South millions
of pounds of dressed meats, which have, in large
part, been finished upon southern-grown cotton-
seed meal.

What is true of the cattle situation, is equally
true with regard to mules. For various reasons
the mule is much in favor all over the South for a
work animal, and for a great many years the South
has been the principal market for the thousands of
mules produced in the North and Northwest. In
South Carolina alone it is estimated that at least
25,000 horses and mules must be added to the state’s
live stock supply annually in order to keep up the
supply of work stock. At the present time, a very
large per cent of these are produced outside of the
state, and this condition prevails all over the South.
Yet there is no section of the country more suited
to the growing of good mules. There is scarcely a
day in the year when a young mule will not run at
large in the woods and waste lands of the South

SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE NEEDS FARM ANIMALS 51

and keep in good condition without receiving a
single pound of feed other than he is able to gather
for himself. This condition should be taken ad-
vantage of, and the millions of dollars now paid to
northern farmers and stock raisers every year for
animals with which to draw the plows in the south-
ern fields, should be kept in the South where it
belongs. Three million dollars a year for South
Carolina alone represent the amount paid to
northern farmers for work animals. The South
should produce its own work animals, not only in
order to keep these vast sums of money at home,
but because they can produce animals which are
suited by nature to southern conditions, while it
takes from one to three years for northern-grown
animals to become accustomed to the climate and
to reach their greatest degree of efficiency. An-
other reason, and not the least of them, is that the
estimated value of the manure produced annually
by each horse or mule amounts to no less than $28,
gauged by the market prices of commercial fer-
tilizers. Southern soil needs this material.

The field for the growing of hogs in the South is
unlimited. The old razor-back type which has been
synonymous for southern live stock for generations,
was developed from hogs which escaped from their
owners and became half wild in the southern
woods, subsisting upon nuts and other foods
which they were able to find in the woods
and swamps. They increased tremendously in num-
ber without any care or attention, and in the face of
all the obstacles which they would be likely to en-
counter in wild life. The same conditions which
permitted this class of animals to thrive so mightily
are equally favorable for the breeding and growth
of a type of hogs better suited to modern condi-

52 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

tions. Where corn and clover are available, there,
generally speaking, hogs will thrive, and cheap
gains will be procured. In most sections of the
South, clover or some other leguminous forage can
be used for hog pasture every day in the year.
Corn can be produced at will, and the climate is
especially favorable to the production of winter
pigs, which have never been an unqualified success
in the hog growing districts of the North.

The South is a wonderful land for legumes.
There is scarcely a type of soil upon which some
one or another of various rich leguminous crops
will not thrive. In one section it may be red clover,
in another alfalfa and in still another field peas or
crimson clover or Japanese clover, or soy beans,
but in nearly every instance some one or more of
these can be made to produce abundant pasture
throughout the year. The southern farmer should
never lose sight of the wonderful soil-restoring
properties of leguminous crops, while at the same
time utilizing their growth in the feeding or pas-
turing of farm animals.

POSSIBILITIES OF SOUTHERN DAIRYING

Possibilities for dairying are almost without
limit. Enough has been said already of the
forage and feeds which can be produced in this
section to indicate to the mind of any practical
dairyman the wonderful possibilities of milk pro-
duction under these conditions. This field has
scarcely been touched. The creamery and butter
production of the South is entirely inadequate to
meet the demand. Less than one-twentieth of the
amount used is produced in the South, although

SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE NEEDS FARM ANIMALS 53

the southern creameries produce a grade of butter
that is equal to the best of northern and western
product. It is estimated that at least 25,000,000
pounds of creamery butter are imported into the
South annually from the northern and western
states. The milk supply of most southern cities
is inadequate to the demand. In many cities I0
cents a quart is the prevailing retail price of milk,
and, in most instances, the product of a first-class,
up-to-date, sanitary dairy would command much
higher prices even than this. In some places, a
shortage of fresh milk of any quality exists, so that
large hotels are compelled to keep on hand a supply
of condensed milk to be used in case of emergencies.

When we consider the effect that the up-to-date,
advanced type of dairying has had upon the soils of
northern communities where dairy farming has been
practiced for a term of years, and when we consider
also the tremendous field open in the South for this
type of farming, the results to southern agriculture
from the addition of several millions of dairy cows
to its live stock supply can be readily imagined.
Both the direct and indirect results from the de-
velopment of an advanced type of dairying will make
for the financial betterment of the farmers. The
production of milk and butter for high-priced mar-
kets by the use of cheap feeds will bring immediate
financial results to the farmer, while the indirect
result from the application to the soil of the fer-
tility produced by these millions of dairy cows will
result in a permanent readjustment and the up-
building of the soil’s producing capacity. Still,
many southern farmers have found dairying
in that section unprofitable. The reason for
this does not lie in the natural disadvan-
tages of the region, but is rather because the farm-

54 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

ers themselves do not know how to make it profit-
able. In the 13 southern states the average cow,
according to the census of 1900, produces annually
only 3,036 pounds of milk. This will test on an
average, 4849 per cent of butter fat, and will make,
therefore, only about 170 pounds of butter. This
low production and low degree of efficiency of the
animals kept, is the greatest cause for small profits.
The standard adopted for a good dairy cow re-
quires that she shall produce at least 6,000 pounds
of milk and 288 pounds of butter annually. The
South not only needs more dairy cows, but it needs
vastly better ones. In 1900 there were a few more
than 4,000,000 dairy cows in the 13 southern states,
producing 1,444,291,5360 gallons of milk. These
cows were in about the 3,000-pound class. If they
had been of the standard adopted by dairymen for
a good average dairy cow they would have pro-
duced 2,859,042,558. This would have represented
an increased efficiency of 1,414,751,022 gallons of
milk or 58,400,000 pounds of butter fat. This in-
crease would have been worth something like
$240,000,000. In other words, the South was feed-
ing to her dairy cows an amount of feed which
produced $240,000,000 less than its true feeding
value indicated. The southern farmer has begun
to see that it does not pay him to feed two or three
cows in order to obtain the amount of milk which
one cow should produce. He is beginning to see
that it does not pay him to raise cattle which are
worth $11 or $12 a head, when a good type of steer
bred especially for the export beef trade sells in
Virginia at from $60 to $80 a head. It takes as
much feed and a lot more work and worry to pro-
duce the former type than the latter.

SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE NEEDS FARM ANIMALS 55
SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Certain districts in the South within the past
five years have made enormous strides in ridding
themselves of the one-crop idea. They no longer
carry all their eggs in one basket. In some of the
districts in Texas, which the boll-weevil devastated
in 1903-4, they are now shipping carloads of cattle
and hogs—this from a district where five years ago
every pound of meat consumed locally was shipped
in from northern packing centers. This same
progress is true with regard to the raising of po-
tatoes, onions and other food crops upon land
formerly devoted exclusively to cotton growing.
In one district the production of cotton dropped
from 16,000 bales to 9,000. The farmers were
driven to raising food crops and live stock, and
within five years their output of these products had
increased 500 per cent. At the same time they have
been able to gradually increase their output of
cotton, although farming a smaller area in cotton,
so that by the time this tremendous output in food-
stuffs was reached they were again producing from
15,000 to 18,000 bales of cotton.

These examples of a readjusted southern agricul-
ture and the best teachings of the southern agricul-
tural colleges, point out definitely and clearly the
route for placing southern farming upon a perma-
nent and suitable basis. Give the southern soil a
chance to show what it can do in the way of grow-
ing heavy forage crops of legumes and what it can
do in the way of producing more and better live
stock. Give it a rest from its years of tobacco and
cotton growing, and establish a definite rotation
which will call for the growing of clovers, and for
the addition of the fertility produced by the

56 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

animals. Feed those millions of tons of cottonseed
meal in southern feed lots and return to the south-
ern soil which produced it the millions of tons of
soil fertility contained in it. Raise hogs, cattle,
mules and sheep. They will represent so much
clear profit. Return to the soil all the manure pro-
duced by these animals, and in addition occasion-
ally plow under a good heavy growth of clover.
Work into the soil all the organic matter which it
can take care of. Southern soils must be built up
and maintained. There is no new land to be opened
when this wears out. Place soil maintenance upon
a rational and scientific basis with a well-defined
rotation of crops, with extensive live stock pro-
duction as the balancing factor and connecting link
between rotation and permanent fertility, and the
South will present a condition of agricultural pros-
perity which has never been equaled by northern
localities less favored by natural conditions.

CHAPTER) V

Let the West Heed the Warning

The various examples of gradually decreasing
yields in the southern states and along the Atlantic
coast should be sufficient warning to the dwellers
in the more fertile and newer regions of the West
and Northwest. While it would be difficult to
prove by statistics that the total yield of grains
and other crops throughout the United States’ is
less than formerly, this decrease is evident and
easily proved in parts of New England, New York,
New Jersey and the south Atlantic states, where
the ground has been cultivated for several hundred
years. In those localities there is not any ques-
tion as to the result of continuous grain cropping
and failure to keep large numbers of live stock. In
fact, in many sections a considerable percentage of
the farm land is unprofitable because of waning
production. On the other hand, in these same old
localities, frequently examples of maintained fer-
tility and increased crop production demonstrate
that by intelligent handling the productive capacity
of almost any soil in the United States may con-
tinue for an indefinite period.

The most disastrous feature in these older sec-
tions, and which the West should heed, is the
growing of grain crops continuously on the same
land. It has been positively proved that decreased
yields under those conditions must follow. In
1888, an experimental plot in Champaign county,
Illinois, under the direction of the university of
Illinois, was set aside for continuous corn grow-

67

58 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

ing. That year the plat yielded 54.3 bushels to the
acre. The same plat in 1909 yielded 29.4 bushels
per acre. This is one of the longest and most satis-
factory experiments in the country with corn, and
may be taken as an indication of the final result of
cropping without rotation and live stock.

While the general farmer does not, of course,
grow one grain continuously, he very frequently
thinks that the rotation of corn with oats and
wheat ought to bring him good results. Yields
from that kind of a rotation, for a time at least,
will be greater than from continuous growing of
corn, or wheat or oats, but in time the land will
become unprofitable. He soon learns that he must
include in the rotation leguminous crops—the com-
mon clovers, alfalfa, beans, peas and vetches. If
along with this he maintains enough live stock to
consume the bulk of the grain and forage grown on
his farm, he can continue to raise profitable crops
almost indefinitely, provided he does not abuse his
land by working it when too wet, or by allowing his
farm animals on the fields when the ground is full
of moisture.

A little figuring will demonstrate what the de-
crease in production really means to the United
States in particular and to the world, as a whole.
With the increase in population it will not be many
years before famine conditions will exist in nearly
every section. Of course, no one expects that
farmers will be so unwise as to permit anything of
this kind, but lack of intelligence and system in
handling lands will ultimately result in just this
thing. Statistics going as far back as records are
available in the United States indicate that for the
United States, as a whole, the yield of crops has
increased in the aggregate per acre, rather than

c

LET THE WEST HEED THE WARNING 59

decreased, as is commonly supposed. That this
will continue is hardly to be expected. Up until
within the last decade vast tracts of new lands
have been opened each season and large yields from
these have tended to maintain the general average.
Further than that, the number of farm animals in
the country have also shown an increase. It is a
recognized fact that the increase in the productive
capacity keeps pace with the increase in the num-
ber of farm animals kept.

Again, going back to figures, it has been shown
that a 100-bushel crop of corn takes from the soil
about 100 pounds of nitrogen, 17 pounds of phos-
phorus and 19 pounds of potassium in the grain,
and about 48 pounds of nitrogen, six pounds of
phosphorus and 52 pounds of potassium in the
stalks. Now, if this grain and forage is all fed
on the farm about three-fourths of the nitrogen
and phosphorus and one-third of the potassium is
left behind and is available for future crops, pro-
vided the manure is properly taken care of. If the
manure is neglected one-half of the fertilizer con-
stituents are frequently dissipated in three or four
months.

FARM MANURE VERY VALUABLE

Now, to show how really valuable farm manure
is it must be remembered that each ton of fresh
manure contains about 10 pounds of nitrogen, 2
pounds of phosphorus and 8 pounds of potassium.
As the nitrogen used in crop production can easily
be collected from the air by growing leguminous
crops, there is no reason why there should be any
expense in supplying this element. One ton of clover
hay contains about 40 pounds of nitrogen, 5 pounds

60 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

of phosphorus and 30 pounds of potassium. When
grown on soil of average productiveness, the roots
and stubble contain about as much nitrogen as the
soil has furnished to the plants, so that that con-
tained in the forage is the quantity added, provided
it is fed on the farm.

The phosphorus and potassium actually used in
crop production must be supplied by the purchase
of commercial fertilizers in the form of bone meal,
rock phosphate and the various potassium salts.
The proposition to supply the necessary organic
matter and keep the land in proper mechanical con-
dition is not very difficult, because where live stock
is kept there must be enough of this material for
feeding the animals.

With these facts in mind it is self-evident that
shipping away vast quantities of corn, oats and hay
is exceedingly bad practice. It is bad practice from
the standpoint of soil fertility, and it is bad practice
to sell the raw material rather than work it into the
finished product, for the manufacturer’s profits are
lost. It is bad practice to dispose of any raw mate-
rial on the farm, if by utilizing it at home a higher
grade of production can be secured and the cost of
marketing thereby greatly reduced. Compare, for
example, how much less expensive it is to market
several carloads of cattle than to dispose of the
corn and hay and other feeds required to feed them
for market. A further illustration is seen in the
dairy industry, where the milk is sold in bulk and
shipped to distributing centers. Where this whole
milk is sent to the creamery the skim milk is hauled
back by the man who delivers the whole milk and
the cost is practically nothing. The butter, which
represents the finished product, is so small in bulk,
compared to the milk, that the cost of marketing is

LET THE WEST HEED THE WARNING 61

greatly lessened. It is the same all along the line.
Market everything you can through your horses,
your cattle, your hogs, or your sheep.

STOCK ON HIGH PRICE LAND

Accepting the above as good, sound business
policy, the question naturally arises, can live stock
pe\prontably raised on $200 an acre land? Prof. H.
W. Mumford of the university of Illinois insists that
it can. Some forms of live stock production should
and will be abandoned. Scrubs must be disposed of.
Plenty of feed must be used and the feed must be
economically and judiciously handled. Contrary to
the opinion that has been frequently expressed,
Professor Mumford states that except in minor in-
Buetices, It 15 not true that the older agricultural
countries like Germany, France, Holland and Den-
mark, are abandoning live stock production because
of increased population and increased price of land.
Whether or not live stock may ultimately disappear
from the farms of the United States is largely a
matter of conjecture. This tendency is so remote
that at present it need not be considered. It is the
consumption of corn and other grains and hay by
live stock that makes it possible for the man in the
middle West to produce heavily and thus reach this
present high valuation. With the elimination of live
stock husbandry this large return would not be
possible. It is estimated that 80 per cent of
ie ‘corn produced in the United States is fed
to live stock. This home consumption, therefore,
is the chief reason for the high-price grain and con-
sequent high price of land. Not every farmer will
be able to make live stock on $200 an acre land pay,
but, as a rule, the intelligent, skillful feeder can and

62 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

every farmer, even on this high-price land, will find
it to his advantage to keep a limited number, at
least, of all classes of animals adapted to farm con-
ditions.

While it is true that profitable stock production
up to date has been usually associated with the
cheap lands and with free range in the West, it is
also true that with the settlement of these areas
the total number of animals in the United States
is increasing and the benefit to the section as a
whole is becoming greater and greater every year.
Therefore, there is probably very little force in any
argument against the general proposition that stock
carefully selected, intelligently handled and eco-
nomically fed is profitable on any land in the coun-
try.

The most difficult problem in profitable live stock
husbandry on lands of the middle and western
states, under present conditions, is that of cattle.
Cattle require a large grazing area, and they must
be at least two years old before they can profitably
be disposed of. The best authorities say that even
under these conditions there is no reason why, by
selecting breeding stock with great care, by feeding
economically and judiciously, cattle production is
not profitable. With hogs and sheep, however,
the problem is quite different. It is much easier
to get a start with either hogs or sheep, they mul-
tiply more rapidly, can be kept on more restricted
areas and do not consume nearly as large quan-
tities of feed.

Taking sheep, there is little or no reason, present
prices of wool and mutton considered, why every
farm in the United States should not support a
flock containing all the way from 25 to 60 head.
It may surprise many to know that a flock of this

LET THE WEST HEED THE WARNING 63

size on the average farm can be kept at very little
expense. They will eat feed that other animals
pass by, will destroy and keep down weeds, will
clean up brush fields, will eat cheap roots and occupy
very little stable room. They are not expensive
animals to take care of, and the cost of maintenance
for a year, if they are handled as indicated above,
is so small that the greater part of the balance from
sales of wool or mutton is net profit. By annually
culling out the older and inferior animals a small
flock of high quality can be maintained. They will
bring a nice sum of money from the sale of wool
alone. Every fall or winter a number of animals
are available for fattening and sale as mutton.
Sheep manure is exceedingly rich and being finely
divided and widely distributed, is a valuable asset
to the farmer who keeps a flock. Sheep husbandry
for the West is, therefore, one of the means by
which the waning fertility may be checked and con-
ditions now existing in the older states prevented.

Much the same conditions surround the hog situ-
ation. Of course, hogs do not consume as much
waste material as sheep. They must have con-
siderable grain, particularly corn. But if properly
handled, sows may be made to produce two litters
of pigs every year, and at this rate it is easily pos-
sible to very rapidly increase the hog stock and still
have available for sale every season a nice lot of
fat hogs, which at prices that have prevailed dur-
ing the past few years, are immensely profitable.
Hogs can be partially fattened on clover pasture
and on rape and on other crops which tend to
increase the fertility of the soil and improve the
mechanical condition. Hogs do not require a large
amount of shelter, are easily handled, and during
the past ten years have not been subject to nearly

64 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

so severe outbreaks of cholera and other swine
diseases as a couple of decades ago.

That the supply of hogs is not keeping pace with
the demand is proved by the wonderfully high
prices paid for fat hogs during the winter of 1909-
10, when hogs at the central markets sold for 10
to II cents on the hoof for weeks at a time. There
is no reason why the industry should not be im-
mensely profitable, even though the stock be raised
on $200 an acre land and fed 6o0-cent corn.

The keeping of hogs and of sheep both tend to
prevent waning fertility, because of the fact that
they thrive and fatten on leguminous crops, par-
ticularly the common clovers, alfalfa, cowpeas, soy
beans and in addition both are well fitted to con-
sume root crops such as turnips. All these crops
both add to the fertility of the soil and improve the
mechanical condition, so that while the hogs and
sheep are being fattened and fed, the productive
capacity of the land is being increased.

As has been so frequently stated, one of the
most expensive plant foods necessary to maintain-
ing fertility is nitrogen. This can be secured by
the growing of clover and leguminous crops and if
large areas of these crops can be raised every year
on every Illinois farm, and if these crops are con-
sumed by some kind of live stock, the West will
never be compelled to make good a lost fertility,
as is being done in the East.

FEED ANIMALS LIBERALLY

The presence of large numbers of farm animals is
not, however, the only item that is necessary to
prevent waning fertility. These animals must be
liberally fed and the feeds, if the whole proposition

LET THE WEST HEED THE WARNING 65

is to be profitable, must be largely produced at
home. Consequently, first see that you have
plenty of live stock and then see that your land is
in good condition and capable of producing large
crops. After you have secured the crops see that
the stock is given a liberal quantity and that this is
fed judiciously, so that the largest amount of benefit
is received. There is an old saying that the more
manure produced on the farm the bigger the crops
and that the bigger the crops the more live stock
can be kept. This saying is just as true now as
200 years ago. Corn, alfalfa and common clover
must be the tripod supporting western agriculture.

Since the matter of beef production is of such
paramount importance, it goes without saying that
on many farms in the middle West more feed will
be demanded than can be supplied by the acreage
under cultivation. Consequently, a careful con-
sideration of buying feed for cattle is worthy of dis-
cussion. As a general proposition it is a pretty
difficult problem for a cattleman to show a con-
siderable profit where he must buy all his feed,
including corn, or other concentrates and forage.
The resident of the corn belt, therefore, is fortunate
in that the bulk of the forage and the greater part
of his grain feed can be purchased at home. The
age and condition of the cattle used must, of course
be considered. To fatten a two-year-old steer
weighing 1,000 pounds will require about six
months. During this time from 55 to 65 bushels
of corn and one ton of hay will be used. It pays
to supplement this carbonaceous feed with small
quantities of oil meal or cottonseed meal. Then,
if clover and alfalfa are available, conditions are
quite satisfactory. If cattle are on grass during
the time the grain is being fed, gains will be made

66 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

at a comparatively small cost. If the feeder knows
about how much stuff his animals will consume
during the feeding period he will be able to deter-
mine whether or not he can feed to advantage.
So much depends upon local conditions that it is
absolutely impossible in a work of this kind to give
any absolute and specific advice. The cost of feed
any one season, the price received for fat animals,

BEEF CATTLE BARN

the cost of hired help—all these things must be
looked at in the light of local conditions.

The number of cattle to be kept on the individual
farm is also a matter which the owner must decide
for himself. It would probably be inadvisable,
however, to feed less than a carload. He can
handle these nicely on a small farm, and is in a
position to secure numerous advantages in the way
of reduction on freight, labor, purchased feeds, ete.
Of course, if he can feed several carloads, he has
still further advantages. Some animals do not
fatten quite as quickly as others, so that those ready

LET THE WEST HEED THE WARNING 67

first can be picked out and shipped and the others
finished later. The successful feeding of cattle
loses much of the labor to those who make a close
study of the business, who take advantage of every
favorable opportunity of carefully selecting and
utilizing the various feeds available.

There are a number of things in feeding cattle
which must be avoided. For example, one suc-
cess in a neighborhood often results in disaster
to those who have not had large experience. They
figure that if one farmer can feed cattle success-
fully, there is no reason why another cannot, in
spite of the fact that this other farmer has had no
previous training and does not know how to make
every item count. The only way to succeed is to
start in a small way. Eventually you will become
a skilled feeder and will know how to make a profit
almost every year. In nearly every case cattle for
feeding have to be purchased from outside. The
profit in the proposition will depend very largely
upon your skill in making a purchase. Not only
should the animals be bought as cheaply as pos-
sible, but the great problem is to be a good enough
judge of feeders to select steers of a quiet disposi-
tion, of typical beef conformation and animals that
will put on fat rapidly, at the least possible cost.
After this is done the matter of starting them on
feed gradually and also being able to detect im-
mediately any symptoms indicating sickness or
failure to properly utilize all feed given, are of prime
importance.

The general principles enumerated above in re-
gard to cattle feeding apply also to feeding sheep
and hogs and to a certain extent to the feeding of
horses for market,

CHAPTER VI
Does Live Stock Pay?

All live stock is not profitable. It does not re-
quire careful observation and wide experience to
demonstrate the truth of this statement. Hundreds
of thousands of farm animals in the United States
are kept at a loss. This is wholly unnecessary.
If judgment is used in selecting breeding stock, if
common sense is employed in handling and feeding
it, there is no excuse for unprofitable animals any-
where. Occasionally an animal becomes unprofit-
able through sickness or age. Then the thing to do
is to get rid of it without hesitancy. The great
trouble to date has been, first, a lack of information
as to just what a profitable animal is; second, a
lack of inclination to dispose of unprofitable stock;
third, neglect or ignorance in feeding and handling.

At this day and age of the world, there is ab-
solutely no excuse for lack of information concern-
ing farm live stock. There are enough successful
and practical breeders in the country to prove what
types are most profitable, so that anyone so dis-
posed may easily find out what kind of a horse,
or a cow, or a sheep, or a hog he must keep, if he
desires to show a profit on the right side of the
ledger. Never before have the agricultural col-

leges and experiment stations done so much along

these lines. This information is available in bul-
letin and book form or can be obtained by visit-
ing successful stock breeders, attending agricul-
tural meetings, etc. To neglect this source of in-
formation is a decided weakness and should not be
tolerated,

DOES LIVE STOCK PAY? 69

Lack of inclination to dispose of unprofitable
stock is a more serious problem, for if farmers with
the information at hand refuse to avail themselves
of it, there is no means of compelling them to do it.
The average of intelligence, however, is becoming
higher and higher on the American farm, so that
this problem will shortly solve itself. Further than
this, it has been demonstrated so clearly that un-
profitable animals are a serious detriment to
American agriculture that no wide-awake farmer
will tolerate them. Get rid of the unprofitable herd
as soon as possible. Do not breed from such stock
and unprofitable animals will soon disappear.
Fatten the unprofitable cow, sheep or hog immedi-
ately and get it out of the way. An unprofitable
dairy cow may have to be sold at a small figure,
but the thing to do is to fatten her and send her to
the slaughterhouse without delay.

Probably one of the greatest sources of loss by
unprofitable live stock is keeping dairy cows that
do not return enough in the way of production to
pay for their keep. Before the advent of the Bab-
cock test and the schemes for analyzing and valu-
ing feeds, there might have been some excuse for
not knowing just what the dairy cow was worth
from year to year. With all these devices, how-
ever, it is now easily possible to determine just
how much a cow eats during a given period, deter-
mine its cost, and then compare the cost of feed
and handling with the return from the pail for a
few weeks or a few months and you will know what
the cow is worth to you for the year. Those that
do not produce at least $10 to $15 above the cost of
production should be disposed of immediately. No
one should be satisfied with a herd that does not net
him between $35 and $50 per head per year above

70 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

all expenses. Recent tests in various dairy sections
of the United States have shown that in many cases
four cows were not producing as much net profit
as two should.

Dairy farming always will be the most profitable
branch of American agriculture, as long as it is
intelligently handled. A dairy farmer has a small
manufacturing plant on his own place. There is
the raw material in the way of feeds which enter
into the finished product, such as milk or butter.
The by-products are retained on the farm for feed-
ing stock and enriching the soil. If cows of a high
grade are kept, there is absolutely no question as
to the final outcome, but the dairy cannot be
profitably run unless all cows are paying their way
from the start.

PROFITS ON HIGH PRICE LAND

The matter of profitable live stock is becoming
of increasing inyportance with the advance of land
values. When land was worth from; $20 to $50
per acre, when corn could be had for 25 cents per
bushel and oats at 20 cents, when grass could be
had on the range or on land that was not costly,
the proposition was not so serious. Of course,
profits were correspondingly small, but the amount
of capital invested was also small. With the pass-
ing of the years, however, all prices have advanced,
so that today $200 an acre land in the corn belt is
common. The dairyman must pay 50 to 60 cents
per bushel for his corn and 30 to 40 cents and some-
times more for his oats. His grass is grown on
land that in many cases is just as valuable as cul-
tivated areas. Concentrated feed is also high, and
so it comes about that the scrub must go. The

DOES LIVE STOCK PAY? ae

animal that will not mature quickly, will not breed
well, will not produce large quantities of milk con-
taining a high percentage of butterfat,is an unprofit-
able proposition. Scrub stock is unsatisfactory in
more ways than one. Uniformity cannot be se-
cured, early maturity is impossible, the maximum
utilization of feed cannot be secured, so that the
only possible way out of the difficulty is for the
modern farmer to make up his mind to keep nothing
but superior animals.

This is not as difficult a proposition as one would
at first suppose. It is not beyond the means of
any farmer to start and build up a profitable herd
in any branch of live stock. Of course, I do not
advise every man to spend a lot of money in start-
ing a pure-bred herd, buying high price animals,
but a profitable working herd may be built up with-
out very much expense. Take, for example, dairy
cows. If you already have a herd of 20 cows, test
these carefully and retain only those that pay their
board. Replace the ones disposed of by purchas-
ing good, vigorous, thrifty, prolific cows of known
value. Then buy a pure-bred bull of good in-
dividuality. When the calves come, retain only
those which give promise of rapid growth and
early maturity. When they come into milking,
test them at once, and if they do not come up to the
standard, throw them out. Decide on what breed
you like and buy a bull of that breed. If you want
to keep Jerseys get good Jersey cows, or at least
a good grade, and keep a first-class Jersey bull.
In four or five years you will have a herd of cows
that cannot fail to return a profit.

With horses it is even easier. Buy up as many
roomy, thrifty mares as you want. They need not
be pure-bred animals, but see that each individual

72 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

is a good one. Then buy a stallion, or secure the
use of one that is pure-bred, that comes from a line
of ancestors noted for excellence. Dispose of the
colts that are not satisfactory and in a few years
you will have horses that will increase your bank
account right along. The grade mares may gradu-
ally be replaced by pure breds, if you want a herd of
this kind.

The sheep problem is still easier. There is no
trouble at all in keeping up a lot of grade ewes that
will breed you first-class lambs. Be sure that you
have a pure-bred ram at the head and never vary

IOWA HOG HOUSE

from this. Dispose of the ewes as they get old, or
as they become unprofitable from any other cause.
Do not hesitate about this—fatten them and sell
them. Keep only the best and in a little while you
will have a working flock of sheep that is up to
standard. With sheep you have not only mutton,
but wool. Every farmer, or, at least, every farm,
can profitably keep a small flock, to utilize waste
feeds, keep down weeds and bring in money with
a regularity that will be surprising.

The hog problem is also an easy one. If you like
Berkshires, buy a couple of sows and a pure-bred
boar, then use high-grade individual sows to make
up the balance of your breeding herd. In a very

DOES LIVE STOCK PAY? 73

few years you will have pure Berkshires, which
can be sold at a profit for breeding purposes, or
turned over to the packer. It is just as easy to do
the same thing with Poland Chinas, or Durocs,
Chester Whites, or Mule Foot hogs, or any other
of the standard breeds. Another thing, above all
others, to be observed, is to get rid of unprofitable
_ individuals and never, under any circumstances, use
an inferior or grade sire. Always have a pure-bred
male and see that he is a good one.

SELECTING BREEDING STOCK

The matter of intelligently selecting breeding
stock calls for the nicest discrimination. While
breeding animals must be pure bred, it does not
always follow that a pedigreed animal is a desirable
one. A lot of pedigreed scrubs have done untold
damage to the breeding interests of this country.
The individuality of the animal must be considered.
If an animal has not proper conformation, if vigor
and constitution are not present, if prepotency does
not exist, there will be no satisfaction, to say noth-
ing of profit.

Gite irsh thing to do- in “selectins a” breeding
animal is to consider blood lines very carefully.

Find out what his ancestors have done, what
their records are at shows and at the block. _ If
you are breeding fast horses, look up the racing
records of ancestors back as far as possible, at least
eight to ten generations. If breeding beef cattle
find out the show records of ancestors and how
popular they have been with beef raisers. All
these things must be given very careful considera-
tion. If the pedigree is right and if the individual
is right, and if the breed selected is your favorite,

74 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

the success of the enterprise depends, then, upon
careful feeding and handling.

The greatest possible damage has resulted by an
indiscriminate mixing of blood lines. It has been
so fully demonstrated that a violent cross never can
result satisfactorily that further discussion would
seem unnecessary. Yet, even at this late date, it
is not uncommon to see a cross between a Short-
horn and Holstein, between a Holstein and a Jersey
—between Percherons and trotters. The resulting
stock can never be satisfactory in the long run. The
first cross may produce possibly a good animal, but
subsequent crosses are sure to result in a lot of
animals lacking in uniformity and in characteris-
tics for which one or both lines have been noted.
If you breed Shorthorns, stick to Shorthorns and
the type which, to your mind, is most desirable.
Do not cross Percherons with Clydesdales, for the
colt will not make as satisfactory a horse as if
animals of the same strain had been mated.

With hogs it is not so bad, if the first cross is to
be sold to the butcher. A cross, for example, of a
Berkshire and a Poland China often results in a
market hog that can be raised with satisfaction and
sold with profit. To maintain your herd, however,
you must always have some pure-bred animals, as
well as animals of some distinct standard breed.
From these you can maintain your herd and re-
plenish your breeding stock. If, after this has been
done, you care to experiment with hogs intended
for the block, possibly some good results may be
secured. It is a pretty safe proposition, however,
to stick to rigid lines and refrain from much cross-
ing.

The only place where a pure-bred sire can be
used without regard to the problems above enumer-

DOES LIVE STOCK PAY? 75

ated is when you are grading up your herd, or when
you are breeding for a good working herd, without
any regard to developing pure stock, or securing
high prices for a pure-bred animal. If you have
for instance, a lot of good individual cows of vari-
ous breeds and crosses, the use of a pure-bred bull
will give you meat animals that may be raised and
disposed of at a profit. The same is true of sheep
and hogs, that is, building up a working herd and
not raising breeding stock. Too much emphasis
cannot be placed upon this matter for as the years
go by and as conditions change, it is more and more
important to give careful thought to the matter of
keeping your blood lines pure.

CHAPTER VII

Basis of Profitable Stock Breeding

The basis of all profitable live stock breeding
should be good blood lines. By this is meant
animals of quality, with ancestors with a record.
It is not sufficient that an animal should simply
have a pedigree. It must be a good individual and
also have ancestors possessing like characteristics.

With this in mind, the next important step is
discrimination in selection. The breeder must not
be influenced by fancy, whim or what are consid-
ered strictly breed points. The fact that a man
may much prefer a red Shorthorn will undoubtedly
influence his selection of breeding stock, but it
should not determine his choice of a moderately
satisfactory animal of his favorite color, rather than
a very high grade roan, for example. Of course, if
the breeder is not in business from a purely money
standpoint, he can afford to indulge in fancies, al-
though the results will, in the end, not be so satis-
factory as though he had adhered to recognized
and established principles of breeding. If in con-
nection with these principles of selection he feeds
liberally and judiciously, provides shelter during
the winter and shade during the summer, there is
no reason why he should not have a profitable pro-
ducing herd, which will increase in value from year
to year.

The matter of selecting a breed is largely a mat-
ter of personal preference and environment. One

76

BASIS OF PROFITABLE STOCK BREEDING TT.

man may have a very marked preference for Short-
horns. This may be based on sentiment, or upon
his belief that Shorthorns are the most profitable
cattle. One may be attracted by the compact form
and beautiful white markings of the Hereford. He
may be convinced that Herefords are the, best
animals, but a choice between the Shorthorn and
the Hereford quite often is determined by the be-
lief that Herefords look better. Then, too, one
feeder may prefer the Angus, partly because they
are very compact animals, uniform in color, and,
of course, they are high-grade beef producing
animals. Then, too, the matter of environ-
ment must also be considered. Herefords
have the reputation of being good rustlers,
able to take care of themselves under rather ad-
verse conditions. For this reason Hereford cattle
have always been popular on the range, where oc-
casionally feed may be short and weather condi-
tions severe. Angus cattle are considered best
adapted to the corn belt conditions, where rich
pasture and plenty of grain are always available.
Galloways ought to do well in rough, mountainous
regions, because the breed originated in very rocky
territory in Scotland.

Chester White hogs, for example, are not consid-
ered entirely satisfactory for southern latitudes, be-
cause it is claimed they show more of a tendency to
sun scald than some of the dark breeds. Poland
Chinas are exceedingly popular in the corn belt,
because they do especially well on a ration consist-
ing largely of corn. Yorkshires and Tamworths
are considered desirable bacon hogs in Canada, be-
cause they thrive on field peas and oats, barley and
other feeds which grow in abundance in that region.

Shire and Clydesdale horses are most popular in

78 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Canada, because of the preponderance of English
and Scotch. This is largely a sentimental reason.
In the United States, where sentiment plays
a smaller part, the Percheron is probably the
most popular horse, because of his activity, his
clean limbs and his value as a general purpose beast
of burden.

Rambouillet and Merinos are popular on the
western ranges because of their great rustling qual-
ities and hardy constitution.

Consequently, because of the great variety of
tastes and varying conditions of soil and climate,
there will always be representatives of the leading
breeds of live stock, widely distributed. It makes
very little difference what breed is chosen, pro-
vided it is suited to the purpose for which it is
purchased. There are excellent animals in all
breeds, so that if one man prefers a Hereford, an-
other a Shorthorn, and a third a Galloway, all of
these breeders have a splendid chance to succeed,
because they believe thoroughly in their favorite
types and will build up a profitable herd.

SELECTING BREEDING ANIMALS

After the blood lines are determined upon, after
the selection has been carefully made, after the
breed has been decided upon, it must not be for-
gotten that, after all, the most important item is
quality. Quality is a rather difficult term to de-
scribe, because it has a different meaning applied
to different purposes. In general, it means a high
grade animal, thrifty, compact and vigorous in
every particular. Taking beef cattle, there are two
divisions of quality. Generally speaking, quality
means refinement of external conformation, as seen

BASIS OF PROFITABLE STOCK BREEDING 79

in the head, form, bones, muscle and smoothness
of outline. It is affected by nothing so much as by
breeding. It is not often found in the plainer bred
steer, but is generally characteristic of a well-bred
animal. The possession of general quality is of
the utmost importance in selecting feeders. It is
difficult to explain; its determination comes largely
by experience. It is for this reason that an old
cattleman can often discover this form better than
one who is thoroughly familiar with live stock, but
has not had large experience in selecting the
feeders.

The second quality is called handling quality.
This indicates that the animal is a good feeder.
Gitsus determined by the feel of the skin. To be
a good handler, the hair must be of medium fine-
ness and the whole animal have the appearance ©
of good breeding.

The farmer must be familiar with the leading
characteristics of the different types. To illustrate
this, a consideration of one type in each of the gen-
eral classes of farm animals will be enumerated.

CONFORMATION AND CHARACTERISTICS

As the draft horse is probably the most profit-
able for the general farmer, a somewhat detailed
enumeration of desirable characteristics will be
given. The general formation of the draft horse
includes a heavy frame, a compact and blocky body,
a comparative shortness and strength of limb, all
these being in proportion. The weight is a most
important consideration in a draft horse. A draft
animal in fair condition at maturity ought to weigh
anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 pounds. The height
is not so material, provided the necessary weight is
present. Quality and substance, as shown in hard

80 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

bone and joint, should be prominent. The hair
should be fine and silky, the bones smooth, the
joints neat and the lower limbs free from superflu-
ous flesh. The action of the draft horse is par-
ticularly important in America. In the old country,
where speed is not so important, the heavy and
clumsy draft horse answers very well for hard
work, but here even farmers desire action, and this
is especially required by expressmen and others
using large numbers of draft horses. Feet must
be picked up with a snap and carried clear of the
ground. High knee action is not essential, but a
strong, steady movement of both knee and hock,
without suddenness, is very important. The head
should be lean, but not out of proportion to the
body, having plenty of breadth between the eyes.
The neck must be strong and muscular, with a
slight arch. The shoulders should not be long and
sloping as with light horses, but more upright,
being well set in the back. The chest should be
full and deep, indicating large capacity of the vital
organs. The knee must be broad, the cannon bone
round, with the tendons extending back to back, so
that the attachment is deep and strong. The pas-
tern, which is an important part of the leg, should
be fairly long and perfectly smooth and free from
extra flesh. The feet ought to be large, heavy,
dense, preferably black in color and the frog large.
The body should be short on top, long below, broad
along the back, with ribs strongly attached.

The hock requires most careful study, for this
joint is the seat of many troubles. As the horse
stands in a natural position the hock should be
straight and true, viewed from behind, showing no
evidence of weakness. Where the hock holds a
true position, the hind feet also stand true, neither

BASIS OF PROFITABLE STOCK BREEDING SI

toeing in nor out. If a joint is too fleshy, puffiness
is apt to occur, or a form of spavin is apt to exist.

Beef cattle, when of correct type, show a dis-
tinctly meat-producing formation. The animal is
broad of back from shoulder points to hips, has a
wide, deep body, short and somewhat thick neck, and
rather a broad, thick, fleshy hindquarter. Viewed
from one side the top and bottom lines of the body
run nearly parallel, with the back quite level.
Cattle of this type are commonly referred to as
blocky, indicating compactness of form. The head
must have a strong, broad muzzle, indicating
superior grazing and feeding qualities. The nos-
trils should be broad, forehead broad and reason-
ably full, the horns refined, ears neat and attached
to the head without coarseness.

The breast and chest are most important in beef
animals. The breast should be carried well forward
and be broad and full in the bosom. The chest,
which lies between the shoulders and just back of
them, should be full at the crops, showing much
spring of ribs, and also well filled out in the front
flanks. Too much depression behind the shoulders,
or a narrow, contracted lower chest indicates lack
of constitution. The front legs should have wide,
muscular attachments. They should be _ short,
coming straight down, viewed from the front
or side. Closeness about the knees indicate a nar-
row chest. Fine bone and smooth joints are an
evidence of superior quality.

The back of beef cattle carries an immense weight.
It must, therefore, be strong. All the high pricé
meats on the carcass are found on the back, so that
it is important that the ribs be well arched, to carry
as much of this high price product as possible. The
hindquarters, viewed from behind, should be thick,

82 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

coming down perpendicularly on the outside, where
the thighs naturally narrow.

Quality in a beef animal is shown by a fine bone;
moderately fine hair; a mellow, moderately loose
skin; medium size, well set ears, and horns of
moderate size and fine texture. Coarse bone, rough
joints, long legs, scraggy horns, indicate lack of
quality. The skin is a most important indication
of quality. Taken in the hands over the ribs it
must seem mellow and pliable to the touch, being
easily grasped and stretched. Thin skin is undesir-
able in a beef animal, while, on the other hand, a
very thick skin is to be avoided.

The ability to put on flesh evenly is of great
importance in the beef animal. The increase must
be uniformly distributed all over the body. This
can be determined by passing the palm of the hand
along the back and shoulders or sides. It should
find no evidence of irregular covering, with poor
spots in one place and heavy fleshing in others.

DAIRY CHARACTERISTICS

Dairy cattle are entirely different from beef
cattle. The body is not so thick, there is less
strength of back, the thighs are narrow and the
neck slender. The triple wedge form is associated
with the dairy cow. Viewed from, one side, she
shows a less depth of body in front than behind.
She gradually widens from the breast to a point
of the hips and hindquarters. Looking down the
back at the withers, the form widens out like a
wedge toward the middle of the body. Many
notable dairy cows possess this wedge form in a
striking degree, but, of course, exceptions occa-
sionally are made.

Fleshiness of the dairy cow is objectionable,

BASIS OF PROFITABLE STOCK BREEDING 83

except possibly where the animals are young.
The head of the dairy animal must be lean,
with broad muzzle, short nose, large nostrils and
dish face. The ears must be thin and pointed. The
horns must be very fine, without any indication of
coarseness. The neck is long and muscular, with the
exception of bulls, in which it is strong and heavily
muscled. Shoulders should incline at a good angle
well into the back. The withers should be sharp
and narrow.

The breast of dairy cattle does not show so great
width as in the beef type and the same is true of the
chest. The ribs must be well sprung, to provide
large capacity for the consumption and utilization
of feeds. Dairy cows with very short ribs are poor
feeders and usually possess defective constitutions.
The front legs should be straight.

The back of the dairy cow usually shows some
droop from shoulder to hip line. This, however,
must not become excessive, as a strong, well-sus-
tained back, with but little depression, is to be
preferred to the sway back.

The udder of the dairy cow is a most important
part, in that it indicates capacity of producing milk.
The skin of the udder should be soft and the hair
should be fine. Large cows should have larger
udders than small cows, and the animal of from
goo to 1,000 pounds in weight should, at six years
old, have an udder that will yield at least 40 pounds
of milk a day. The milk veins which convey blood
through the udder are usually regarded as indica-
tions of a cow’s general capacity to produce milk.
On good dairy cows the veins are very large, tor-
tuous and prominent. The milk wells or openings
admitting the milk veins into the under part of the
belly should be large. Large milk wells and prom-

84 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

inent milk veins are a pretty safe guide as to the
productive capacity of the dairy cow.

HOGS AND MUTTON SHEEP

While it is very difficult to indicate the most
striking features of sheep, in a general way the
mutton type will be taken as an example. In gen-
eral, the mutton conformation of the sheep has
many of the features of the beef type in cattle.
The body must be compact, the form blocky, the
head and neck short, the back broad and level, hind-

ELEVATION OF HOG HOUSE

quarters full and heavy and body deep. With the
mutton breeds the matter of flesh production is of
first consideration, consequently the form that will
produce the largest percentage of the most desir-
able cuts is the one to be aimed at. The shoulder
is valuable for mutton and should be neatly placed

BASIS OF PROFITABLE STOCK BREEDING 85

and not too prominent at the top. This entire part
must be smoothly covered with flesh. The back
and loins contain valuable cuts, so that the strength,
width and thickness are essential at all times. The
body, to have ample capacity, must, of course, have
strongly arched and deep ribs. The thigh should
be thick from behind and very full and low. The
entire upper thigh should be heavily covered with
flesh, as this is one of the most valuable mutton
cuts. The chest, of course, is most important, as it
contains the vital organs. It should have both
thickness and depth. The withers must be wide
and smoothly covered. As with the beef types of
cattle, the flesh of the mutton type of sheep must

—----->

FLOOR PLAN OF HOG. HOUSE.

be smooth and uniformly distributed, free from
wads of fat or patchiness.

The wool of mutton sheep ranges in length from
that of the Merino to ten or possibly more inches.
The fleece does not cover the body as compactly
as in the fine wool breeds. The fiber ranges from
very fine to coarse. A bright fiber with a brilliant
luster is very desirable. The entire body should
be covered with fleece. The oil or yolk should be

86 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

of moderate abundance, thus keeping the wool in
a healthy condition.

Probably no animal on the farm will make money
more rapidly than the hog. Hogs are easily kept,
large litters are produced that can be sent to mar-
ket at nine months, thus enabling the farmer to
turn his money quick. There are many varieties
of hogs in the United States, but the most desir-
able type of any breed, as the animal is kept solely
for pork, is the one that possesses compactness of
form, breadth of back, large hams, strength of limb
and a capacity to fatten rapidly and mature early.
The American desires a type of hog that carries a
large amount of fat. It represents the extreme type
of meat production and, of course, is the most
popular in the corn states. In other countries this
type of hog is not looked upon with favor, as a
bacon animal is preferred, but here bacon hogs are
not very numerous and under the conditions exist-
ing in nearly every part of the country, even the
bacon hogs begin to take on the fat-producing form
after they have been bred for a number of years.
It may be taken for granted, then, as a rule, that
the hog popular in the corn belt is true to American
type. In general, a profitable pork-producing hog
should be compact and big of body, with a short,
well-formed head, broad back, large, heavy hams,
short legs, plenty of quality, as shown by an abun-
dance of fine hair, strong bones and joints. In
disposition the animal should be mild, so that he
will fatten easily.

The size is largely determined by the demands
of the market. At some markets hogs ranging
from 220 to 230 pounds are most popular, while at
others considerably heavier ones bring the best
prices, It is pretty hard to breed for the ones

BASIS OF PROFITABLE STOCK BREEDING 87

most in demand, because of the fluctuations in
standards, consequently a moderate-sized animal
that matures early will probably in the long run
be the most profitable.

In hogs the head is an important indication of
queiity: It is short and broad. Excessive fat
around the eyes is undesirable. The neck should
not be long, but broad and strong. A wide breast
and deep, capacious chest indicate constitution.
The shoulder should fit smoothly to the body,
showing no roughness or openness at the top. A
smooth, broad, evenly fleshed shoulder is most de-
sirable, from the market point of view. The back
and loins are very important. The ribs must be
well sprung and the loins broad and compact. The
width of the back should be carried the entire
length, from shoulder to hips. A drooping back
indicates weakness. The ham is one of the highest
priced parts of the hog, and must be fully developed.
A high-class ham viewed from behind is thick at
the edge and low at twist. From the side the
relative length is long from hip joint to the lower
corner of the ham.

The fleshing quality of the ham is most important.
The flesh must be evenly distributed and the back
and sides, shoulders, rump and hams must be uni-
formly covered with meat that feels mellow to the
touch, yet firm. Smoothness of covering is very
essential. Wrinkles are objectionable and indicate
lack of quality in a hog.

The disposition of the hog should be quiet. The
Poland China is a notable example of this phleg-
matic character, and it is to this characteristic, to a
large extent at any rate, that its great fattening
ability is due. Active, restless hogs do not put on

flesh.

88 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Each particular type of farm animal has, of
course, its distinctive characteristics, which cannot
be presented in this connection. Enough has been
said, however, to indicate what must be looked for
in certain general types. If all these things are
given consideration and carefully noted, live stock
raising will be a success, provided the farmers see
they are fed economically. There is a vast difference
in individuals as to the utilization of feed. Some
animals will eat sparingly and always be fat.
Others will consume feed ravenously and will never
fatten. When selecting breeding animals, as well
as feeders, this property should be given careful
attention, as it is most important, the profit end con-
sidered.

Ee Oe! See

CEEA Pim TEE

Principles of Breeding

The object of breeding is to increase the number
of animals and to improve the herd. That is as far
as the matter need go with the ordinary farmer.
Of course, with the scientific breeder, the additional
object of the origination of new varieties offers a
fascinating field. For the general farmer, however,
the two objects named should be the ones given the
bulk of attention. Throughout the United States
tie improvement of the herd or flock is of the
greatest possible importance. Very few farmers
can afford to start with an entire outfit of pure-bred
animals, both male and female. Wealthy people
and those who plan to make the breeding of live
stock their exclusive life work, probably can afford
to do this, but for the ordinary stockman, for the
general farmer, for the man who wants to keep farm
animals to maintain the fertility of his land, the
matter of starting with a pure-bred, high-grade in-
dividual sire and selecting good individual females
from common stock, is the one that will, in the end,
be the most profitable. Of course, the end is a
purely commercial one, but the great majority of
stockmen must consider the money side and largely
disregard the sentimental features.

The above being true, grading—that is, the mating
of a common or unimproved parent with a highly
bred one—is the miost satisfactory method. One
pure-bred bull with a herd of 20 cows gives a crop
of calves that are half bloods. In other words, this
is a case where the bull is half the herd. If a pure-

89

Qo PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

bred cow is mated with a scrub bull, only one
animal is a half breed. In the case noted, 20 of
them are half blood. This shows the extreme neces-
sity of having a pure-bred sire. By constantly
using a pure-bred sire, it can be easily shown that
the sixth generation contains 98.44 per cent of
purity and only 1.56 per cent of unimproved blood.
This sixth generation is practically pure-bred. The
unimproved blood becomes insignificant and rapidly
disappears. This is why, in the early days of a
breed, the sixth or seventh generation is considered
eligible to record. It must be remembered that if
grades are used, absolutely no progress is made.
For example, if half bloods are bred to half bloods,
half bloods will be produced indefinitely. The
progress in grading ceases as soon as the pure-bred
sire is discontinued.

It is, therefore immensely important, in fact, al-
most a violation of one of the cardinal principles of
live stock husbandry, to use anything but a pure-
bred sire. Those not thoroughly informed are apt
to be misled by the fact that occasionally a half
blood sire is a splendid individual and to all out-
ward appearances is superior to many pure-bred
males. With the above in mind, however, it can
be seen how exceedingly foolish it is to breed from
anything but an animal of pure blood if improve-
ment is expected and desired.

For practical purposes, many grades are just as
satisfactory and as profitable as pure-bred animals.
This is the cheering thought where herd improve-
ment is desired by people of moderate means.
Anyone visiting central live stock markets knows
that the bulk of the offspring of fat stock is grades.
Grades can be produced cheaply when fattened and
disposed of at the slaughterhouses. The meat is,

' PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING OI

however, practically as good and there is just as
much of it as if the animals were pure bred.
Consequently, to any but the man who is raising
foundation stock and to the man who is a sen-
timentalist, the grade answers admirably, but do
not use a grade sire.

CROSSING EXPLAINED

Crossing is the mating of two different, distinct
races, breeds or varieties in hope of securing an
animal that will be of high character. This form
is adapted only to the production of new strains
and should be handled with a great deal of care,
and only by skillful breeders. Practically the only
cross that can be employed on the general farm is
that used in the production of the mule. The prin-
ciples of mule raising are so thoroughly understood |
and so clearly set forth in another chapter of this
book that no argument need be presented here in
their favor. Outside of that, crossing is a pretty
serious operation and is apt to result in disappoint-
ment. There is danger of reversion to the original
.type and the production of unprofitable animals to
so great an extent that, with the single exception
referred to, crossing may very wisely be avoided
by any except those thoroughly informed. The
mating of cattle, for example, of widely divergent
type, such as the Shorthorn and the Jersey, is bad
practice. You may ‘set neither a good —beei
animal nor a good dairy animal. Size is lost and
lack of uniformity is sure to result. In picking out
feeders in any community, the man making the
selection will carefully avoid any animal that shows
signs of Jersey blood. Not that these crosses are
not frequently fattened with profit, but the care
and the risk is too great.

Q2 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

For the purpose of perpetuating certain desirable
types of animals within a particular breed, line breed-
ing is often practiced. By this is meant the restric-
tion of selection and mating to the individuals of a
single line of descent. Breed improvement, and
sometimes herd improvement, makes it impossible
to confine selection to the limits of the breed. How-
ever, those who practice line breeding are not so
much concerned in the commercial side as in the
establishment of a certain type. Line breeding ex-
cludes everything outside the approved type. It
necessitates the mating of animals similar in char-
acter, purifies the pedigree and gives ancestors an
opportunity to dominate the system, and while it
is practiced by a number of breeders and some
practical farmers in order to fix desirable character-
istics, it is not the common practice and probably
never will be among the general farmers and ordi-
nary stockmen in the country. It has large ad-
vantages and should not be neglected. The chief
danger in line breeding is that in the anxiety to
perfect a pedigree and secure certain character-
istics, breeding animals of inferior merit are often
used. A line-bred animal is valuable or dangerous,
exactly in proportion as the individual has been kept
up to grade. No other system of breeding, how-
ever, has ever been of as great benefit to the live
stock interests. The only thing to avoid is to be
sure that all the animals used for breeding are
animals of excellent individuality.

Another form of herd improvement not thor-
oughly understood and concerning which there has
-been much error is that of inbreeding. This means
that animals closely related are mated. This form
is used so that when an animal of superior excel-
lence appears, his or her characteristics are pre-

CHAMPION JERSEY COW FROM COLORADO

A HIGH-CLASS ROAD MARE

PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING 93

served by breeding his descendants. It is possible
‘by this method to secure the highest percentage of
blood of an exceptional individual and to establish
a strain that will perpetuate desirable character-
istics. If persisted in, the outside blood disappears
and the pedigree is rapidly enriched. Inbred
animals are recognized as especially prepotent.
The disadvantages of inbreeding are that if an
animal possesses any undesirable characteristics,
these characteristics, of course, are apt to be mul-
tiplied in the descendants, for good as well as bad
features are transmitted. There have been numer-
ous failures of inbreeding and these have probably
overshadowed the advantages. A careful investi-
gation shows that inbreeding is not necessarily
harmful, if properly handled. If animals lacking
in vigor and low in fertility are excluded, the best
of results will ordinarily come from inbreeding.
Some of the very best and most successful live-
stock men in the United States have practiced in-
breeding, and are able to show, at this time, herds
and flocks in prize rings, successful at the heads of
herds, and approaching, in every way, the breeder’s
ideal of profitable live stock. Vigor, of course, is
the first proposition and fertility is a close second.
If these two characteristics are looked out for, there
will be very little danger in inbreeding. It is a
rather risky proposition to recommend it indiscrim-
inately to the general farmer, but the principles are
perfectly plain, so that he can practice it with profit
just as well as his more specialized brother.

IMPORTANCE OF PURE-BRED SIRE

With these general principles of breeding in
mind, is it not perfectly plain that it will never do

O4 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

to ignore the pure-bred sire? It will never do,
under any circumstances, to use a sire that lacks
pure blood because he is a splendid individual. It
probably will be all right for the first generation
if the animals are to be disposed of for meat, but
even then it is a risky proposition. He will not
produce as uniform stock as a pure-bred sire. The
progeny will not fatten as readily, nor mature as
uniformly, so that every farmer ought to make up
his mind to use nothing but pure-bred sires, no
matter what other advice may be given him or
what his desires may be. In some instances, laws
have been enacted against breeding anything but
pure-bred stallions and forbidding the standing of
a grade. Other states are rapidly taking up these
laws, and it would be a splendid thing for the live
stock interests if this law could apply also to cattle,
sheep and hogs.

If it is admitted that the sire is half the herd,
and the important part of the live stock industry,
his care becomes a matter of great moment. Be-
ginning with calfhood in cattle, he should be
liberally, yet judiciously, fed. He should be so
handled as to develop rapidly and completely. His
vigor must always be taken into consideration. He
must not be overfed, so that his vitality will be
impaired in any way. He must not be kept too
fat. He must not be fed exclusively on highly
carbonaceous foods. He must not be confined; he
must be given a liberal amount of exercise, but even
here, moderation must rule. Of course, he will be
started on mother’s milk. This holds true in the
cases of horses, cattle, sheep or hogs. If the supply
is ample, no additional feed will be needed for some
weeks, except that he should be permitted to run
with the mother on pasture. He will soon learn to

PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING 95

nibble at the grass. A little later, he can be fed a
small amount of crushed oats. He must also be
taught, before cold weather arrives, to eat forage.
Keep hay or fodder where he can get at it, and he
will have acquired this without any teaching. It
is presumed that on the ordinary farm the young
stock come in the spring, so that his supply of feed
during the summer will be the milk, the grass and
the little grain that may be supplied. He will get
plenty of exercise in the pasture, the only precau-
tion necessary being that he be protected from flies
during the hot, dry weather of August and early
September. This is accomplished by providing a
dark shed, to which the dam and the young animal
may cesort during the heat of the day. As fall
approaches and cold weather begins to appear, some
confinement will undoubtedly be necessary and the
young animal will have to be weaned. Begin feed-
ing gradually and insist on the future herd header
running in the open as much as possible. Nothing
is better than an open shed, adjacent to a pasture.
Feed alfalfa hay and oats, to which a little corn
may be added, providing this corn does not result
im an abundance of fat. Keep him in a good,
healthy growing condition without becoming over-
fat. Every day during the winter let the young
animal run out, provided the weather is not
stormy. He is a good deal better off in the open
air, where he can get exercise, than confined in a
stall. He must, however, always be provided with
a warm stable during cold, wet, stormy or snowy
weather. This is particularly important with sheep,
but should not be neglected with cattle, horses or
hogs. The second summer give him all the blue
Stass pasture he wants. Let him have a little
clover; feed small amounts of oats all during the

96 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

season, so that he will continue to grow. If he
can nibble at a manger full of tame hay—alfalfa or
some of the clovers are best, but timothy will do no
harm—he will grow more rapidly than if main-
tained on grass alone. Continue this treatment
until he is ready to begin his services as a pro-
genitor of high-grade animals. If he is a good
individual, he will begin his work in the best pos-
sible condition and will give a good account of
himself.

The care of the females is almost identical with
that of the males. They must be liberally, yet
judiciously, fed and sheltered. The feeds must be
selected with an idea of building up frame, of de-
veloping muscle, of stimulating those qualities
which are most desired—milk producing in the
dairy animal, wool and mutton in the sheep, laying
on of fat in the case of hogs, the production of a
large percentage of well marbled beef in the heavy
strains of cattle and the developing of stamina in
the case of horses.

Note the difference between this treatment and
that in animals intended for consumption. This
applies to beef animals, hogs and the mutton
breeds of sheep. These should be, of course, fed
judiciously, but they should be pushed from the
very start so as to hasten maturity, for it is the
animal that goes to market quickest, other things
being equal, that returns the largest profit. Note
the popularity of baby beef and hothouse lambs
and hogs that are sold at nine months. True, they
must be fed so that large growth is possible, so that
the greatest amount of gross weight may be secured
at the end of any particular period, but after this is
accomplished no consideration need be given to the
descendants of these animals intended for the

PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING 97

block. The whole problem is simply to keep them
in good healthy condition and to fatten them as
rapidly as possible with the least expense. These
animals, too, must be protected from unfavorable,
disagreeable weather, must be given good, clean,
wholesome feed, must be given a very limited
amount of exercise and must be provided with pure
water.

It goes without saying that blood cannot take
the place of good feeding and good care. A pure-
bred animal or herd will rapidly deteriorate and
become an absolute expense, instead of a profit, if
feeding and care is not present. The fact that most
pure-bred animals are in better condition than those
that are not royally bred is partly due to the fact
that the breeder owning them has sufficient interest
in his animals to give them better care than is ac-
corded to the scrub animal. True, pure-bred
animals of good individuality will do better under
rough conditions and neglect than the animal
whose ancestors have not been bred ior a great
many years for vigor and vitality, but no pure-bred
herd can approach anything like a maximum of
profit or of excellence if the feed is poor or if the
shelter is not provided. Why was it necessary
that the herd bulls on the range during the period
of large ranches had to be so frequently replaced
by animals from herds that were given liberal at-
tention and good care? It was due to this very
fact that it is impossible, on account of range con-
ditions, to give the shelter and feed necessary to
best developments. The pure-bred animal could
not be seen at his best unless he was given this care
on the ranch or brought from the older sections
where abundance of feed and shelter were available.

To the average farmer who keeps stock, and every

08 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

farmer in the United States, must sooner or later
keep farm animals, the breeding proposition is
particularly fascinating and is interesting because
of the fact that it results in a much larger profit.
Don’t think that you cannot handle pure-bred stock.
They respond to good care better than scrubs.
Don’t think that you cannot get up your common
herd or flock. You know what a good individual
is if you have been brought up on a farm, and if
you haven’t, there are so many sources of informa-
tion now that there is little excuse for ignorance.
With this knowledge it is very easy to discard the
unprofitable animals, to keep the best, to use a good
individual, pure-bred sire and before many years
you will have a herd of which you will be proud.
You will have a herd in which your children will
take a deep interest. You will have a herd that
will increase your bank account from direct sales
and also because of the part it plays in keeping up
the fertility of the land devoted to cultivated crops.

CHAPTER ix

Feeds and Feeding

The problem of securing large and economical
gains in the feeding of live stock is not entirely
one of food supply, although this is the factor
which can be most definitely controlled and upon
which we have the most reliable information. The
other factor is the individuality of the animals
themselves. Two animals alike as to external ap-
pearance, of equal age and equal weight, when
placed under exactly the same conditions and given
exactly similar feed, will generally not make equal
gains, because of the inherent ability of the one to |
utilize its feed to better advantage than the other.
The general question of feeds, however, as to kind,
amount and methods of feeding for securing any
desired result with any one class of live stock, has
received greater attention at the hands of investi-
gators and experimenters than probably any other
single phase of agricultural science.

PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING

We have a vast amount of reliable information
bearing upon the composition of feeds under all
conditions and the effect of these feeds used in
varying proportions in securing a desired result in
live stock feeding. It is not the purpose of this
work to enter into extended discussion of all the
problems pertaining to live stock feeding—to even
touch upon each of the various phases of this sub-
ject would require a volume in itself, Much of

99

igele) PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

the really vital information bearing upon live stock
feeding is of a highly technical nature, and it is
not within the province of this volume to enter
into a scientific or technical discussion of the
facts. There are certain basic principles, how-
ever, underlying the science, which are essential
to success, and which are observed by all ex-
perienced feeders. These principles are based
upon the chemical composition of the animal body
and upon the chemical composition of the forage
and grain used to produce animal bodies. While
there are many subdivisions of these materials,
they may all be roughly divided into two general
classes, which are known as nitrogenous and non-
nitrogenous. ‘The former composes, in a large de-
gree, the muscular tissue of the body, while the
latter class forms animal fat and serves to keep
up the body heat. The forages and grains com-
monly used in animal feeding may also be divided
roughly, according to chemical composition, into
two similar groups, one of which contains a pre-
ponderance of the materials used in building up
the muscular or nitrogenous parts of the animal
body, and the other containing a large proportion
of the chemical elements going to build up the
non-nitrogenous portions of the body. The science
of successful feeding consists of the blending of
these two classes of feeds in such proportions that
the best results will be secured in the animal
growth. Protein is a term commonly applied to
the muscle-building material in foods. The legu-
minous hays, such as clover, alfalfa and cowpeas,
and such grains as oats, wheat and barley, are rich
in this material. Carbohydrates is the term very
commonly applied to the fat and heat-forming
foods. Such forages as corn fodder, timothy and

FEEDS AND FEEDING Io!

other grasses, straw and sorghums, such grain as
corn, and all substances containing starch and
sugar in large proportions, belong in this class.
Generally speaking, the best results cannot be ob-
tained from feeding exclusively rations which con-
tain one of these important food elements to the
practical exclusion of the other, for the needs of
the animal body require that the two shall be
blended in certain proportions in order that sym-
metrical development take place, and no part be
developed at the expense of another. It should not
be inferred that it is impossible to sustain life for
considerable periods without the proper blending
of all food elements. Life and a certain degree of
growth have been maintained for long periods by
the use of unlimited amounts of one kind of food.
At the Illinois experiment station a June calf was
maintained exclusively upon skim milk until the
following January. At this time, however, it began
to refuse its feed, became unable to hold up its
head, and appeared to be about to die. Straw and
hay were then offered it. It ate greedily and within
a few hours had begun to improve, and from that
time on made satisfactory gains upon mixed feed.
Similar experiments were conducted, using skim
milk and ground grain, and although enormous
quantities of these feeds were consumed, they suf-
ficed only to keep the animal alive and to give it
a small amount of growth, while animals fed much
smaller amounts of milk and grain in connection
with a liberal ration of hay, made a more consistent
growth and symmetrical development of all parts
of the body, although using a smaller total quantity
of feed. These and other similar experiments show
that the quantity of feed consumed by an animal
is not necessarily an indication of its economical

102 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

use, but rather that successful feeding depends upon
the proper blending of different classes of feed.

In the investigation and discussion of feeding
problems, the term “nutritive ratio” is one in
very common use. By this term is meant the ratio
which the total amount of digestible protein in a
feeding ration bears to the total amount of digest-
ible carbohydrates. The basis for computing such
a ratio was found in the chemical analyses of the
various feeds, which are now published in tabulated
form in all books devoted exclusively to feeding
problems. The nutritive ratio is said to be narrow
or wide as it contains a relatively large or small
proportion of protein. For instance, clover hay
has a nutritive ratio of 1:5.2. This means that
there is 5.2 times as much carbohydrates as pro-
tein in a given amount of clover hay. In skim milk
the ratio is 1:1.63. This represents an extremely
narrow nutritive ratio, while mangels, having a
ratio of 1:9.2, represent an unusually wide nutri-
tive ratio. A feeding standard is simply the some-
what arbitrary statement of the proportionate
amounts of nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous foods
required to effect a given purpose in feeding.
Although feeding standards and nutritive ratios
are published in all the works on _ feeding,
they should not be regarded as an absolute and final
guide in determining the formation of the best feed-
ing ration for animals. There are such wide de-
grees of variation in the composition of feeds, and
such great individual differences in the require-
ments of animals, that a ration which would be
ideal under one condition, would not be well bal-
anced under different circumstances. For in-
stance, the composition of the corn plant varies at
almost every stage of its growth, and varies upon

FEEDS AND FEEDING 103

different soils, and in different climatic conditions
at the same stage of growth. At different periods
before maturity, the corn plant contains a very
large per cent of water and a correspondingly small
proportion of feeding value. As the time of ma-
turity approaches, the water contained becomes
less, the materials of definite feeding value are de-
posited both in the grain and in the leaves and
stalk, and the feeding value consequently increases.
Then, after harvest, the plant is likely to become
less palatable, or is likely, through imperfect har-
vesting and storing conditions, to lose considerable
amounts of its nutriment, and its degree of feeding
value will vary considerably, depending upon the
degree of perfection reached in harvesting and stor-
ing the crop.

This example may be taken as typical of the vari-
ous kinds and classes of stock foods to indicate that
no one chemical analysis can be rigidly applied in
determining the value of feed. The same is true
with regard to the individual animal’s capacity to
utilize feed to the best advantage. Digestion ex-
periments, extending over many years’ time, in
different sections of the world, have shown that
no two animals digest exactly the same amount
of the feed given them, and consequently no two
can be expected to make exactly the same relative
gains, even though they be given the same amount
of similar feeds. Every feeder of extended expe-
rience will recall individual animals which he has
found it impossible to fatten. Every farmer has
had experience with some ungainly, raw-boned
horse, which will consume enormous quantities of
feed and yet will always appear in poor condition
of flesh. These instances illustrate the vast dif-
ference in the capacity of individual animals to

104 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

make good use of the feed given them. On ac-
count of these differences, both in the composition
of feed and the utilizing capacity of animals, it is
manifestly impossible to use arbitrary feeding
standards as an absolute guide in composition of
rations. They should be regarded as only approx-
imately correct for average conditions, and fairly
close computations, made with the idea of supply-
ing a fairly well-balanced ration, will be found all

SOUTH DAKOTA STOCK BARN

that is necessary for a practical feeder under aver-
age conditions.

The amount and kind of feed to be given to farm
animals and the character of the ration, whether it
should be wide, medium or narrow, depends en-
tirely upon the object sought by feeding. Young
growing animals of any kind and animals intended
for breeding will manifestly require a vastly dif-
ferent ration than those which are being fed for
slaughter. Horses which are kept through the
winter with but little work to perform, the object
being simply to maintain them in a fair condition

FEEDS AND FEEDING TO5

of flesh, will require very different treatment than
when performing hard labor. The ration suitable
for dairy cows when being fed for high milk pro-
duction would not be the most profitable feeding
practice for animals being fattened for market.

OBJECT SOUGHT DETERMINES FEEDS

The first consideration in planning a system of
feeding for any period should be the object for
which the feeding is done. Another consideration is
the class of feeds available in each individual in-
stance. It is a comparatively easy matter to figure
out a well-balanced ration if the feeder has at his
command an unlimited variety of feeds. The aver-
age feeder is not situated under these conditions.
The farmer of the midde West has corn, clover hay
and corn stover, as well as blue grass and other
pastures. Naturally, he wishes to use these home-
grown grains and fodders to the best advantage,
and to purchase from outside sources the minimum
amount of feeding material. How best to combine
these available feeds so as to produce the most
economical results is the question of most moment
to the average farmer and stockman.

For conditions in the corn belt it is probable that
clover or alfalfa hay and shelled corn constitute the
basis for the most economical ration for fattening
cattle, sheep or horses. At the Nebraska exper-
iment station, four years of experiments demon-
strated that prairie hay, when fed alone with corn
to fatten cattle, produced small and unsatisfactory
gains, and little or no profit, while alfalfa hay with
corn alone produced large and profitable gains. The
advantage of the latter ration lies in the fact that
alfalfa hay contains a very large proportion of pro-

106 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

tein, while corn is very rich in carbohydrates.
These two happen to be combined in such pro-
portions as to form a nearly perfectly balanced
ration. ‘They furnish about an ideal proportion of
the materials demanded by the digestive system of
the cattle for building up fat and muscular tissue
rapidly.

While alfalfa hay is beyond all question the best
forage crop known, several other leguminous plants
are classed as close seconds and can be substituted
in this ration with excellent results. Where for any
reason it is not possible or practical to grow alfalfa,
then clover or cowpeas can be substituted. In the
eastern part of the Mississippi valley region, clover
will be found much more commonly than alfalfa.
However, in the larger part of the clover-growing
region of the United States and a very considerable
part of the alfalfa-producing belt, corn is also a
leading crop, and feeders naturally desire to utilize
in some way, the tremendous tonnage of forage
which is produced by the corn plant. Corn cut in
good season and carefully shocked, furnishes tre-
mendous amounts of excellent fodder and most
farmers wish to utilize this in their feeding opera-
tions, both to avoid waste of good feed and in order
to work up this material into fit condition to be
returned as fertilizer to the soil. If, however, corn
stover be depended upon entirely for forage, and
corn for the grain portion of the ration, it will
readily be seen that the feed will have too great a
proportion of carbohydrates and not enough of
protein. This will give a one-sided or unbalanced
ration and the best gains will not be procured.
What this ration obviously needs is the addition of
some feed containing a large percentage of protein.
If a feeder has some clover or alfalfa to mix with

FEEDS AND FEEDING 107

the corn stover, it will serve to balance the ration.
If not, this need may be supplied by bran, linseed
meal or cottonseed meal. These feeds have a high
protein content, and fed in relatively small amounts
with the corn, will supply the elements in which
the exclusive corn ration is deficient. This same
general principle would hold equally true in fat-
tening sheep or in feeding horses. It will hold
equally true where timothy hay or sorghum be
substituted for corn stover. On the other hand,
in some of the western valleys alfalfa is raised in
great abundance and all of the grains raised, such
as barley and oats, also have a high protein con-
tent. This leaves the feeder of the mountain val-
leys with the problem of supplying carbohydrates
to form a more perfectly balanced ration. He meets
this by either shipping in corn from the eastern.
states, or by feeding sugar beets, which contain a
Mieh per cent of carbohydrates, or by utilizing
waste molasses and other by-products of the sugar
factory.

If a feeder of any experience nows the relative
proportion of the elements contained in each class
of feed, he will be able to form a satisfactory feed-
ing ration by observing the effect which different
combinations have upon the animals. The tend-
ency with most feeders is to give too little protein.
They should not hesitate to purchase considerable
amounts of concentrated protein feeds, such as oil
meal, in cases where their home-grown crops do
not furnish this element. These feeds may cost a
little more per pound, but they will often be
cheaper in the ultimate result than those capable
of producing fat alone. It seems to matter little
whether the protein is derived from the grain or the
roughage. Corn fed with a leguminous hay seems

108 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

to give fully as good results as corn and oil meal
or cottonseed meal fed with timothy hay or corn
stover. The animal that has enough protein in its
food and is young enough to make a good growth,
will finish better, and will not become “ patchy ”
when fattened, like one that is fed on a less nitrog-
enous ration.

FEEDING INFLUENCED BY AGE

The age at which animals are fed strongly in-
fluences their powers of assimilation. The younger
the animal, in general, the less the cost of gains.
Prof. H. R. Smith says that in six different trials
when accurate records were kept of gains and cost
of food, it was found that during the first 12 months
each 100 pounds increase in live weight cost $3.45;
during the second 12 months, $11.50. At the Illi-
nois experiment station at the beginning of an ex-
periment, calves averaged 384 pounds, yearlings
784 pounds and two-year-olds 1,032 pounds. The
net cost of 100 pounds of gain was $4.10 on calves,
$5.60 on yearlings and $6.60 on two-year-olds. The
profit in beef production, however, consists not
alone in the increased weight of the animal, but
also in the enhanced value of the original carcass.
Thus, if an 800-pound animal costs 4 cents a pound
and after being fattened sells for 5 cents a pound,
there is a profit of $8 on the original carcass. Where
meat animals are grown for market, the greatest
profit will nearly always be found in fattening as
young as possible. If western animals are to be
fed, however, it will often be found more profitable
to feed the larger ones as long yearlings and two-
year-olds, on account of the greater margin afforded
by the heavier original weight.

FEEDS AND FEEDING 109
EFFECTS OF ONE-SIDED RATION

In hog feeding these principles hold equally true
as in the handling of cattle, sheep and horses. The
pernicious effects of the exclusive feeding of highly
carbonaceous feeds is nowhere more apparent than
in the case of hogs which have been kept for several
generations on a single corn diet. Years ago the
custom was much more prevalent than at present,
of attempting to keep hogs in small pens during
their entire period of existence and feeding them
little or nothing but grain, and this usually meant
corn. Immense amounts of corn were required in
fattening animals, but in those days it was worth
only a few cents a bushel and so there was little
object in saving it. The effect of this kind of feed-
ing is most noticeable upon the breeding stock,
especially where it is continued for several genera-
tions. Farmers who pursued this plan of hog rais-
ing found that the second or third generation was
seriously deficient as to type, constitution and
vigor, and that they were no longer prolific. Sev-
eral of the most valuable families or strains of
hogs have been actually bred out of existence by
this type of mismanagement.

Contrary to this experience, those breeders who
have sown clover or alfalfa for permanent hog pas-
ture, and have used rape, rye or the various other
quick-growing crops in order to keep green feed
available for their hogs in connection with the grain
during the greater part of the year, have always
obtained cheap and rapid growth, have maintained
their stock in a high state of health and vigor, and
have made their business permanently successful.
The secret is that the clover, or other pasture, fur-
nished protein to balance up the carbohydrate con-

IIo PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

tent of the corn, thus enabling the animal to make
its growth and perform its bodily functions with-
out so overburdening the digestive system as to
impair health and vitality.

MAINTENANCE RATIONS

By a maintenance ration is meant a ration of
such quantity and composition as to simply main-
tain an animal in fair condition of flesh and to fur-
nish enough nutrition to keep up body heat and
vitality without decreasing or increasing the weight.
It is often desirable to carry breeding animals
through the winter on this basis, or to carry cattle
which it is desired to fatten upon next season’s
grass through the winter without using a lot of
expensive grain feed. A ration with this object in
view will be narrower than that required for fat-
tening animals, and will not usually require such
judicious selection. An abundance of alfalfa or
clover hay alone will serve very well for such pur-
poses as these, because they contain a sufficient
amount of fat-forming materials to keep up body
heat and a large proportion of muscle-forming ma-
terial to maintain the body weight.

At the Missouri experiment station, timothy hay
of average quality was found to be nutritious
enough to maintain the weight of yearling steers
throughout the winter. To do this required a little
more than one and one-half tons to winter each
steer weighing 750 pounds from November Ist to
April 1st. Upon this basis, the steers not only
maintained their weight, but gained about 50
pounds during the winter. At the same station it was
found that cured corn stover handled in the ordinary
farm practice would not quite maintain yearling
steers. Each animal showed a loss of 33 pounds

FEEDS AND FEEDING PEE

on the six months’ feeding, even after consuming
three tons of corn stover. A very little clover or
alfalfa mixed with this corn stover would add
enough to its feeding value to make it a good
maintenance feed. All the rough feeds such as
kafir corn, sorghum, millet and straw may be
profitably utilized in wintering stock in this man-
ner, providing a small amount of grain is available
to assist in completing the ration.

CONCENTRATES

All of the grains and such feeds as bran, oil meal,
cottonseed meal, dried blood and other packing
house by-products, brewers’ grains, in fact all feeds
having small bulk and high feeding value, are
termed concentrates. It is frequently possible by
the purchase of relatively small amounts of some
one or another of these feeds to so complete the
ration as to get high returns out of the rough forage
of the farm, which alone would not serve even as a
good maintenance ration. Farmers are usually
loath to purchase these products on account of their
seeming high price per pound, but when the rela-
tively high feeding value is considered in compari-
son with that of some of the home-grown products,
it will be seen that good value is received, in spite
of the high initial cost. Especially in maintaining
young animals where the greatest and most vigor-
ous growth is desired, it will never pay to feed an
inferior ration, when a purchase of small amounts
of concentrated protein will so greatly improve the
ration. Growth which is lost at this time in the
life of young animals can never be regained no
matter how well cared for they are later. The
stunted animal never acquires the quality which it
would have had, had its growth been continuous.

112 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING
SUCCULENT FEEDS

The one factor in the feeding of animals which
is most likely to be overlooked or ignored by the
American farmer is that of some kind of a suc-
culent or juicy feed to be used in connection with
the dry hay and grain. English and Scotch farm-
ers, who produce the finest specimens of sheep and
cattle known in the world today, have for genera-
tions emphasized the need of feeds of this character
and have constantly used root crops and juicy
feeds of various kinds in feeding their animals at
all times of the year when green grass is not avail-
able. Good green grass in itself is practically a
balanced ration, and ordinarily needs nothing ad-
ditional, unless the stock is being fed for slaughter.
In addition to the actual food constituents con-
tained in grass, it has also a large per cent of juice
or water, and the function of succulent feeds for
winter is to supply this condition as nearly as pos-
sible in dry feeds used in the winter time. This
can be supplied in some form under almost all
American farm conditions, but it is safe to say that
upon go per cent of the farms where live stock is
kept in America, no special provision is made for
feeds of this character. This class of feed may
consist of root crops, such as beets, mangels or
turnips; it may consist of silage or wet brewers’
grains or pulp from the sugar beet factories. The
only places where it is extensively used are in
dairies of the East and middle West where the silo
is now considered almost indispensable, and in the
immediate vicinity of beet sugar factories where
the pulp is easily available. The value of succulent
feed is hard to determine, and it is hard to point out
just from whence this value comes. For instance,

FEEDS AND FEEDING 113

a chemical analysis of beet pulp shows a very small
per cent of digestible material of any sort in it,
the solid portion consisting principally of wood fiber
or cellulose. There is a trifling amount of sugar
and a small per cent of digestible protein, yet cattle
and sheep fed upon corn, alfalfa and beet pulp will
make immensely better gains than when fed upon
corn and alfalfa, even though in greater amounts.
The value is probably in its beneficial effect upon
the digestive system of the animal, which enables
it to make better use of the corn and hay consumed
and to transform a larger percentage of it into fat
and muscle.

Of course silage, especially corn silage, has a
definite feeding value aside from its succulent char-
acteristics, and is used not only in maintaining but
Mmpactening cattle, to excellent advantage. The -
number of feeders at the present time who provide
silage for their fattening stock is very small, but its
use seems to be increasing. Where it is available
there is no better feed in winter for fattening cattle.
They may be given from 10 to 12 pounds daily per
head. Experiments at Purdue university proved
that corn silage was very satisfactory in fattening
steers where a nitrogenous concentrate such as
cottonseed meal was used with it. Silage-fed
steers fed better, made more rapid and cheaper
gains, acquired a higher finish and returned a
greater profit than similar cattle fed under identical
conditions without silage. The best financial re-
sults obtained at Purdue have been from cattle fed
on shelled corn, cottonseed meal and corn silage.
These cattle, after paying for all the other feed,
returned 96.7 cents per bushel for all the corn con-
sumed.

Too much feed is wasted on the average

IIl4 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

American farm. The amount of first-class fodder
which goes to waste every year in the corn fields
of the Mississippi valley, if preserved either as
forage or silage, would support many thousands of
additional meat animals, which are now so sorely
needed in the markets of the country. Much ma-
terial that is now little valued really has definite
feeding value, and ought to be utilized as such.
There are annually many thousands of bushels of
soft corn produced on account of unfavorable
weather conditions, early frosts and other causes.
There is a common idea that soft corn, and like-
wise light oats are very poor feed. The amounts
fed of either should be measured by weight, not
by bulk, and with soft corn the basis of computa-
tion should be its dry matter. It seems to be a
general principle that different grades and qualities
of corn and of oats, really have practically the same
feeding value for each pound of dry matter, pro-
vided the grain has not been injured by mold or
decay. The Iowa experiment station discovered in
feeding corn of the 1902 crop to cattle, that a pound
of dry matter in soft corn was practically equal to a
pound of dry matter in sound corn for feeding to
fattening steers. The New Hampshire experiment
station has recently discovered that pound for
pound, light oats are only a possible shade inferior
to heavy oats for horse feeding. The real feeding
value of grain of this character is greater than
farmers generally suppose.

Many American farmers are raising grain with
the fixed intention of hauling it to the elevator for
sale. Every crop removed thus from the farm de-
tracts just that much from the available fertility of
the soil, because that much material is gone and
can never be regained except by direct purchase.

FEEDS AND FEEDING 115

The average farmer has too little appreciation of
the value of the grain and forage he produces for
live stock feeding purposes. He is too willing to
abandon live stock production and feeding as un-
profitable, because, for the moment, grain growing
seems more attractive. He needs a keener appre-
ciation of the feeding value of the different crops
possible for him to grow, of the profits which care-
ful breeding and intelligent feeding of farm animals
will bring him, and of the cumulative effect pro-
duced upon his soil by a continued application to
it of the manure produced by this live stock in con-
suming the corn stover, straw, hay and grain which
he can grow. The live stock breeder should in-
form himself of the principles which underly
this science, and should develop an accurate appre-
ciation of the values of different kinds of feed. He
should be able to know when the products grown
upon his farm are insufficient for the needs of the
growing animal, and what he should produce to
supply this deficiency. He should be able to judge
when it will be profitable for him to purchase high-
priced concentrates, and just what the character
of these concentrates should be. It pays for nearly
every farm to produce a sufficient variety of feed-
ing material to furnish a well balanced ration. This
is especially true in all regions where it is possible
to raise corn, because here also in nearly every in-
stance it is possible to raise clover and alfalfa.
Close attention to the needs of animals under dif-
ferent conditions and full information as to the
kinds of forage and grain which will most fully and
most economically supply these needs is the basic
information without which successful feeding on an
intelligent basis will be found impossible.

CHAPTER X

Profit from the Dairy
MAGNITUDE OF DAIRY INDUSTRY

The dairy industry in the United States is of
much greater magnitude than is apparent to the
average observer. The most reliable figures avail-
able in 1910 place the total number of dairy cows
in the United States at 21,801,000, having a total
farm value of more than $780,000,000. The dairy
products have an annual value closely approximat-
ing $800,000,000. This is greater than the value of
any farm crop, except corn. When the dairy out-
put is combined with the valuation of dairy stock it
represents a total of more than $1,500,000,000. This
represents more investment than all the meat cattle
of the land, together with the hogs and sheep. It
is an industry that tends to intensify farming
methods. Where people are obliged to live on small
farms and closely together, it is found necessary, in
order to keep up the required land fertility and
utilize in the most economical way the farm forage
products. It is one of the factors which enters most
strongly into the great question of conserving soil
fertility. Where butter is made and sold from the
farm practically no soil fertility leaves, but on the
contrary, the farm is made richer.

It requires a frugal, industrious people for this
work, as it means steady employment and careful,
painstaking methods. Where grain is raised ex-
clusively, the labor is confined to a few months in
each year, but in the dairy business employment is

116

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY 117

constant. It advances the value of land, and being
economical in its nature can be carried on where
land values are so high that most of the common
farm practices must be abandoned. For example,
in Denmark where the people live closely together
on small farms, the dairy business is found most
fully developed. From this little country every
year is sold over $40,000,000 worth of butter, and
the government considers it so important that not
less than 16 dairy schools are maintained in this
small area. It is one of the best means of con-
densing our farm crops and raw material into a
product which is worth more per pound than any
other sold from the farm. For example, butter pro-
duced in the central part of America can be mar-
keted in any part of the world. The rough fodders
and grasses of our farms can be concentrated into
a condensed form which will require a very light
tax to market in distant lands. It is an industry
that thrives where knowledge and science are ap-
plied. No industry, perhaps, requires this more
than the dairy business. It is an industry of the
people. It is not one that is hampered by trust
or consolidation, but is enjoyed by every farmer
of the land who wishes to engage in the enterprise.
May it always be so preserved!

FIELDS FOR IMPROVEMENT

There are two great fields for improvement,
namely, to raise the annual production of our cows
and to improve the quality of the products. In
these two fields, perhaps, the most important is the
first, and could the annual product of the American
cow be advanced a few pounds of butter per year,
it would bring a vast fortune to our producers.
This improvement is going on rapidly, and prom-

118 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

ises to accomplish much during the next few years.
For example, the Nebraska experiment station has
a cow which has produced 17,000 pounds of milk
and 650 pounds of butter. The average cow pro-
duces about 3,000 pounds of milk and 100 pounds
of butter. It will be seen that this good cow is
equal to six average animals in production. Now,
it is possible to develop such animals. A daughter
of this cow, which is called Katy Gerben, has
equaled her mother in the milk and butter record,
and here promises a family which can produce such
records. Better care of the stock we now have
would, without doubt, increase the annual produc-
tion 30 per cent; this, with wise selection of the
young animals, would, in a short time, double the
output with the same number of cows.

The quality of the product is of vast importance,
and could we produce such butter as the Danes are
making, we would be able to obtain possession of
the English market, which would bring to our
nation forty or fifty million dollars per year. If
we could improve the quality of our cheese it
would save a vast amount of money and give us a
foreign market for our surplus make. During the
past decade great improvements have been made
in the methods of assembling and manufacturing
the products. The centrifugal separator brought a
revolution to the dairy world, and made possible
the creaming of milk in an economical manner and
in a short space of time.

The milking machine is now deemed a success,
and all it requires is a little time to place it in gen-
eral use. There are at the present time over 1,000
milking machines in operation in this country, and
from reports by the users there is good evidence
that they are giving satisfaction. With this ma-

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY II9

chine the labor problem, which is one of the vexing
features of dairying, will be greatly simplified.

The butter accumulator is now also receiving
much attention. This machine takes the fresh milk
and turns it into butter, skim milk and buttermilk
in a few minutes. The Babcock test made a revo-
lution and brought untold good to the dairy world.
It has made possible the finding in a few minutes
of the value of the dairy products, and is the means
of obtaining the value of milk and cream as sold
to the general market.

With all that has been accomplished and the
bright future so full of encouragement with good
things to come, still there is a vast field for im-
provement. Through the broad land the rank and
file of cow keepers are failing in what we term
successiul dairying. This failure is due to the few
undone little things about the dairy. It is those
most talked of and written about, but still foreign
to the masses, who, at least, do not carry them out
in practice. Sharp competition may in time bring
about an improvement, through sheer necessity for
more profit.

TYPES OF DAIRYING

The dairy industry of the United States may be
divided roughly into two general types, one of
which has for its object the furnishing of fresh milk
for domestic use to people living in towns and
cities. The other type is concerned in the produc-
tion of milk to be used in the manufacture of butter
and cheese either on a small scale upon the farm
or on a larger scale by centralized creameries.
Which one of these types it is most practical to
follow depends almost entirely upon the geograph-
ical location. It can readily be seen that farms

120 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

remotely removed from cities or farms not readily
accessible to quick transportation facilities, could
not produce milk for city markets. The milk used
for domestic purposes in such large consuming
centers as Chicago, for instance, is all produced
within an approximate radius of 100 miles from the
city, and except under unusually favorable trans-
portation conditions, it will not be profitable to
ship milk much further than this.

The other type of dairying, on the contrary, can
be conducted upon any farm which is producing
the necessary feed for carrying on dairy operations.
Nearly every farm in the middle West and North-
west conducts a dairy of some sort or other. Since
the introduction into nearly every farm home of
the hand separator, the production of cream for
sale to large butter-making concerns has materially
increased. By the use of these machines it is pos-
sible for the farmer to secure the available butter
fat from the fresh milk within a very few minutes
after milking, and use the sweet, warm skim milk
for feeding calves or pigs. The cream is then sold
either to the local creamery or to representatives
of some of the large buttermaking concerns, and a
definite, monthly income is thus assured. Fresh,
wholesome skim milk secured by this process can
be so judiciously fed as to develop calves equally
as good as though they had been allowed to follow
their dams. This fact has been taken advantage
of in recent years by thousands of farmers who
originally kept cattle only for the increase. Under
this system, by milking the cows and raising the
calves to be finished later for beef, they are able to
have two sources of revenue, while the old system
gave them only one.

The production of milk for the city market

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY T21

usually demands cows of a pronounced dairy type.
Such breeds as the Jerseys, Guernseys and Hol-
steins, which have been bred for hundreds of years
exclusively for dairy purposes, are unquestionably
the most profitable animals to keep for this pur-
pose. A great many farmers say that for any type
of dairying the dairy breeds are the only profitable
type of cows to keep. On the other hand, in the
middle western country, there are thousands of
farmers whose circumstances demand that the fin-
ishing of live stock shall constitute the leading fea-
ture of their farm practice. They have a good deal
of pasture, and their farms produce enormous
amounts of forage and grain. These they do not
wish to sell in the market because of considerations
relating to soil fertility. For various reasons, chief
among them the increasingly perplexing proposi- —
tion of farm labor, they are unable or unwilling to
change their type of farming to exclusive dairying.
Yet, upon their high-priced land, they do not think
that they are justified in keeping large numbers of
breeding cattle merely for the production of calves.
These conditions place them under the necessity
of keeping a type of animals from which reasonable
returns can be realized in dairy operations, and
which will also produce a type of offspring
well suited to being fattened for beef. These con-
ditions have given rise to a strong demand on the
part of many American farmers, for a dual purpose
type of cattle. The so-called dual purpose breeds
are Red Polls, the milking Shorthorn, the Brown
Swiss and the Devon. Of these, the milking Short-
horn and Red Poll are most common upon American
farms, and it is probable that the milking strains
of Shorthorns are by far the most popular. These
cattle produce calves of very good beef type,

122 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

and at the same time are heavy milkers. Rose, a
Shorthorn cow owned by N. G. Simpson of New
Hampshire, has a record of 11,000 pounds of milk
produced in one year. Another has a record of
9,550 pounds of milk, from which were made 448
pounds of butter. Still another produced 60
pounds of milk, making 2 pounds 12% ounces of
butter, in 24 hours. While these records are by no
means equal to the production of famous cows of
the dairy breeds, still they show that profitable
dairying is possible with the best type of dual pur-
pose stock under conditions which seem suited to
this type of dairying.

The farmer should use his best judgment in de-
termining whether his surroundings justify an ex-
clusive dairy industry, or whether his conditions
will demand a more mixed type of farming, and
then direct his entire energy toward securing and
breeding the very best animals of the particular
type upon which he decides. If he is just starting
in the business, he had better begin with a few good
cows and gradually work up until the carrying
capacity of his farm is reached, rather than start too
heavily and later have to decrease his numbers on
account of having too little feed. The crying need
of dairying inAmerica today is not for more dairy
cows but for better ones. The feed which it re-
quires to support our 21,000,000 dairy cows ought
to produce at least twice the amount of dairy prod-
ucts that it does. There is a smaller degree of
efficiency in cows used in milk production in the
United States than in any other class of live stock.

CONSIDERATIONS OF EFFICIENCY

What are some of the means by which the pro-
ducing capacity of the dairy herds can be increased?

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY 123

Intelligent selection, breeding and keeping accu-
rate records of each cow’s production, use of the
Babcock tester in determining the amount of butter
fat contained in each cow’s milk and the prompt
elimination from the herd of all cows not producing
milk in paying quantities, will go a long way
toward this end. A careful and systematic test-
ing for disease, so that no animals will be kept
which are not in perfect physical condition, will
stop a great deal more waste. A keen appreciation
of the principles of feeding and the use in the
dairy of feeds and feeding methods calculated to
‘stimulate milk production to its highest point,
will be found not the least important detail to be
considered.

The farmer, first of all, must have a definite idea
of what constitutes dairy type in cows, and then
select such breeding stock as most nearly conform
to this ideal. It is folly to maintain for exclusive
dairy purposes a cow of marked beef type. There
is as much difference between the dairy type and
the beef type as there is between a draft horse
ange a tracer, The farmer should familiarize
himself with these points of difference and
make use of them in choosing his foundation
stock. In his breeding operations he should
constantly select as the animals which he in-
tends to keep not only the best appearing in-
dividuals in his herd, but those which are the off-
spring of cows having satisfactory dairy records.
These cows he will know because of the tests he
has made to determine their milk and butter pro-
duction. By selecting foundation stock in this way
and by rearing the best offspring, a paying herd,
producing high-grade milk may be built up in a
comparatively short time.

124 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Never before has the importance of cutting out
and disposing of the unprofitable cows from the
herd been more prominent than at the present time.
It is not a difficult matter to determine whether a
herd is profitable or not or whether any individual
in the herd is profitable. It can be readily seen
that if a man has three cows which produce enough
milk to pay a liberal margin of profit over the

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Ss = a
Ea 28 5

MODERN DAIRY HOUSE

amount of feed they receive, and three others,
which give an equal amount less than the value of
their feed, the deficiency of the latter three simply
balances the good qualities of the former three, and
eliminates any possible profit from the whole herd.
The three poor producers not only do not pay for
their own board, but are dependent upon the good
qualities of the profitable three in order to make
the books balance. In order to determine which
individuals are boarders and which are dividend
payers, it is only necessary to weigh each day the
milk of each cow, and to occasionally test for butter

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY 125

fat samples of each cow’s milk. There are numer-
ous handy devices for weighing milk and keeping
a record for each cow which can be secured at
trifling cost from any dealer in dairy supplies, while
the use of the Babcock tester is so simple and so
well known that it needs no comment. By using
these devices and keeping a fairly accurate record
of the feed consumed, one can readily determine
which cow should be culled out from the herd.
Not only will this elimination of profitless stock
prove a direct benefit in the saving of feed and
labor, but the herd will be greatly improved, and
the offspring from the selected cows, if sired by a
male of known breeding quality, will be worth
several hundred per cent more than those from an
untested herd.

CO-OPERATIVE IMPROVEMENT

In some of the most progressive dairy sections
of the United States, recent years have developed
so keen a realization of the necessity for intelligent
breeding and for careful testing that co-operative
breeding associations and cow-testing associations
have been formed. These have almost invariably
proved successful and have been the means of
tremendously increasing the efficiency of the dairy
stock in every section where they have been given
careful trials. The general plan of a co-operative
breeding association requires that a number of
farmers living reasonably near together, purchase
pure-bred bulls with which to head their herds.
Sométimes several farmers may combine in getting
the same animal if their circumstances and location
seem to justify this. A farmer or group of farmers
somewhere in the neighborhood may purchase an-
other pure-bred bull. By combining their resources

126 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

in this manner they are able to spend more money
and secure a better individual than they would
otherwise have done. At the end of two years at
most, it is always customary for a breeder to get rid
of his herd bull and purchase one of different family
in order to avoid inbreeding, or a too close relation-
ship between these families. The members of the
co-operative breeding association always arrange to
make their original purchases from different strains
of stock, so that when the necessity for this change
arises, they simply trade bulls. This plan serves
to keep in the one community valuable animals
which under the old plan would probably have been
shipped to distant points. It prevents needless ex-
penditure and duplication of animals and has proved
very Satisfactory in its effect of constantly up-
building a class of stock not only for individuals
but for entire communities.

Co-operative testing associations usually consist
of about 26 members each. They pay a stated sum
per month, depending upon the number of cows each
has, the money going to pay the salary of a man
whose business it is to test each herd once a month.
This is planned on the basis of one herd for each
working day, but in case the members live so closely
together that it would be possible to test two herds
or more a day, the number of members can be in-
creased, and the cost per member decreased ac-
cordingly. Each member keeps for himself the
weight of milk per cow for each day, but turns the
card over to the representative of the association
upon his arrival. This representative is equipped
with a Babcock tester and the necessary chemicals
for making a test, and is furnished with samples of
the milk of each cow. This does away with the
trouble and work incidental to taking care of the

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY 127

records and provides a reliable guide for the farmer
in determining which of his cows should be elim-
inated from the herd.

Careful selection, intelligent breeding and con-
tinual discrimination in culling out unprofitable in-
dividuals are essential to the most satisfactory type
of dairying, but these in themselves, no matter how
faithfully followed, will not bring results to the
farmer. The dairy cow is a highly developed ma-
chine for transforming grain and forage into milk
and dairy products. It will be necessary to fur-
nish her with all the feed she can consume, and it
will be further necessary that this feed should be
so selected and furnished in such proportions as
to enable her to produce the greatest possible
amount of milk and the greatest possible amount
Grpomiter fat. Amn engine cannot be expected to
develop its full amount of power unless plenty of
fuel is furnished, and it is no more reasonable to
expect a cow to accomplish her greatest produc-
tion unless she is heavily and intelligently fed.

SILOS AND SILAGE

In these days, when one hears the word dairy,
he thinks of a silo. Under the present conditions,
when land in the dairy districts is extremely high
in price, and when all the feeds used in dairying are
in strong market demand and correspondingly valu-
able, it is scarcely possible to realize the maximum
profits from the dairy without using a silo in which
to store a cheap supply of efficient feed. The corn
crop furnishes by all odds the best feed for use in
a silo. The heavy tonnage makes it possible to
raise enough corn to fill a large silo upon a com-
paratively small area of land, while the large
amount of nourishing grain contained in this crop

128 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

at the time it is cut for silage adds materially to its
feeding value. There is no question that corn sil-
age and alfalfa hay, fed together, form the most
ideal combination known for dairy feeding. Where
alfalfa is not produced, bright well-cured clover or
cowpeas will do nearly as well. Alfalfa will, to a
great extent, take the place of bran in a ration on
account of its high protein content. Careful, con-
servative dairymen who have kept accurate account
of the results obtained from different feeds, state
that rather than be without alfalfa hay in winter
they would pay $20 a ton for it. The cheapest com-
bination ever used by the Nebraska experiment sta-
tion in producing milk and butter consisted of 100
tons of alfalfa hay fed in connection with 125 tons
of corn silage. This was fed during the winter to
40 cows, which averaged over 400 pounds of
butter each.

It will scarcely pay a man to engage in any form
of agriculture without fairly satisfactory equipment
with which to perform his work. This is especially
true of dairying. After reasonably good stock has
been secured, undoubtedly the most valuable and
nearly indispensable article of dairy equipment is
the silo. The cost is so trifling when compared
with the advantages to be derived as to be a matter
of little or no consideration. It may be said to be
indispensable to the most profitable dairy practice
under all conditions except in sections of the south
where green feed is available at all periods of the
year.

Just what feeds the dairyman shall use, depends
very largely, of course, upon the local conditions
under which he works. Many men who are en-
gaged in producing milk for city markets have only
a small piece of land and are not able to raise large

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY I29

amounts of forage of such bulky nature as clover
or alfalfa hay. Under these conditions, their best
plan is probably to raise all the corn they can for
silage and then purchase in the markets their pro-
tein feed. The silage will furnish succulence and
bulk to the ration, and will supply all, or nearly all,
of the carbohydrates needed, but milk production
requires especially large quantities of protein. This
can be supplied in the form of bran, linseed meal,
cottonseed meal, brewers’ grain and various manu-
factured feeds which are sold under a guarantee as
to their protein contents.

In recent years the alfalfa-growing districts in
the far West have built up a considerable industry
in grinding alfalfa hay into the form of meal, which
is shipped in sacks and can be used the same as
bran as concentrated protein. Where the very best
quality of this is obtainable, its feeding value as a
concentrate is nearly, or quite, equal to that of
bran. In many of the semi-arid districts of the far
West dairying is depended upon in considerable de-
eree for the family income. In many of these
regions they do not raise much alfalfa or other
leguminous hay. Their forages consist of millet,
sorghum and corn fodder. Few, if any, have as yet
even thought of building silos, yet it is possible for
them to feed a fairly satisfactory dairy ration by
mixing with their carbonaceous forages liberal
proportions of oats, barley or other nitrogenous
grains. The great fault with a dairy ration of this
character is that it lacks succulence, and this qual-
ity in the feed is one of the prime requisites in the
most successful type of dairying. Silage furnishes
succulence along with its other desirable qualities.
Root crops also serve this purpose very well, but
should be finely chopped or sliced when fed to

130 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

cows, in order to avoid the danger of choking.

Pasture grass, either the blue grass of the East
and South or the nutritious wild grasses found in
the West, form an almost ideal all-around feed for
the dairy. There are, however, only two or three
months of the year when these grasses are at their
best, and supplementary feeding is required for the
largest results during the greater portion of the
year. Another disadvantage of pasturing, espe-
cially upon high-priced land, is its wastefulness.
The necessity for the economical utilization of all
the feed raised on a farm under intensive condi-
tions has led to the system of feeding known as
soiling. This plan requires keeping the cows in a
barn, or in relatively small lots, at all times, and
cutting green growing crops such as rye, rape,
clover or other suitable plants each day and feeding
in just such quantities as are required. This does
away with wastefulness of pasturing and enables
the keeping of a larger number of animals than
could otherwise be done. The silo can be used in
connection with soiling, to very good advantage,
or it can be used in connection with pasturing by
providing a supply of the summer silage to use
when the grass gets short and dry during the latter
part of the summer. One of the most successful
dairymen in Illinois cuts from five to seven acres
of rye and clover in June and chops it finely in his
silage cutter, packs it in the silo for summer use,
and finishes feeding it out only just before the corn
silage is available in the fall. He states that he
finds this the most profitable crop of his entire farm,

NEEDS OF MILK PRODUCTION

Whatever feeds are given and whatever is the
feeding practice, it should always be borne in mind

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY i3t

that milk production requires lots of protein, and
that maximum milk production requires a succulent
feed. The greatest profits from dairying are not
possible without the strictest attention to the needs
of the cow in planning her ration.

The dairy industry, so far as it relates to the
production of milk, is rapidly undergoing a revolu-
tion. The changes demanded by the boards of
health must necessarily increase the cost of pro-
duction somewhat, although not to the extent of
making dairying unprofitable, under conditions of
reasonable farm efficiency. Many of the careless
methods which have been sanctioned in the past
must. 20, What is required from the present
day standpoint? In few words, the demand is for
clean, healthy cows, well-lighted, well-ventilated
clean and airy stables, tight, sound floors, clean,
healthy attendants, clean utensils, prompt removal
and cooling of the milk in a proper room used ex-
clusively for the purpose, and storage at a tem-
perature below 60 degrees. The use of the small
top milk pail cannot be too strongly recommended
in eliminating dirt and bacteria. In one instance,
where a study was made of this point, it was found
that where the ordinary open pail was used, the
bacterial count was 3,439,000 per cubic centimeter,
as compared with 6,600 with the small top pail.
The use of the damp cloth in wiping the udders
and flanks of the cows before milking is very im-
poutant, in. teducing the bacterial count. It. was
found that where this was practiced in one instance,
the number of bacteria in the milk was 716 per cubic
centimeter, as compared with 7,058 per cubic centi-
meter where the moist cloth was not used.

Public opinion is yearly becoming more insistent
in its demands for elimination of infectious diseases

132 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

from herds furnishing milk for public use. This
refers especially to tuberculosis. It is unfortunately
a fact that many thousands of cows which now fur-
nish milk to the cities are in various stages of this
disease. There is no longer any doubt that it is
possible for this scourge to be communicated to
human beings through the medium of milk. The
time is near at hand when those dairymen who do
not voluntarily clean up their herds by means of
the tuberculin test, will be compelled to do so by
force of public opinion expressed through ordi-
nances and state laws. This elimination of tuber-
cular cows will not prove the hardship that it
seems. It is inconceivable that a cow suffering
from this disease in any advanced form, can pos-
sibly be a paying proposition to the dairyman. The
disease will have so impaired her efficiency as a milk
producer that, in a great majority of cases, she will
not be paying for the feed she consumes. A care-
ful test of dairy cows suffering from this disease
would undoubtedly demonstrate this fact.

Good dairy barns are one of the requirements for
profits in this business. These barns are as neces-
sary to protect the cows from heat and flies in sum-
mer as from cold and exposure in winter. Just
what the type of barn shall be depends upon the
taste of the farmer, and upon the money he wishes
to invest in the building. This much should be
common to all barns: that perfect ventilation
should be provided in some manner so that the
stock need not be exposed to the direct action of
cold winds in winter. It is not desirable to have
the barn uncomfortably warm in cold weather, but
rather to have a reasonable temperature and fresh,
pure air at all times of the day and night. The
problem of keeping a dairy barn clean and free from

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY 133

dust and obnoxious odors which are readily ab-
sorbed by milk is one of the difficult phases of this
business. The problem of affording sufficient pro-
tection, and at the same time giving cows enough
exercise and enough pure air to keep them in health-
fumpeoudition, is a grave one Whe closely built,
tightly closed dairy barns of the East and middle
West have undoubtedly been responsible for the
development and spread of tuberculosis in a large

en |

(Ve

HE

iy

in

A MICHIGAN DAIRY BARN AND SILO

number of valuable herds in that region. Ventila-
tion is a phase which has always received too little
attention at the hands of the farmer.

A type of barn or shelter for dairy stock which
seems very satisfactory, not only in protecting the
animals and maintaining their health, but also in
reducing materially the amount of labor required
iMiecarine tor them, 1s found in a sort of covered
barnyard. ‘This consists of a covered yard or room
where the cows are allowed to run loose in winter
and has only a few stalls in which the cows are
fastened while being milked. This suffices equally
as well where milking machines are used as where

134 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

hand milking is done. The relative cheapness of a
structure of this sort makes it possible to give each
animal a large amount of room and a large amount
of air space. Movable racks are placed at con-
venient intervals for containing the feed for the
cows, and they are allowed to help themselves,
except to the concentrated feeds, which are given
during milking time. By this method most of the
manure is deposited near the feed racks and is so
thoroughly tramped and mixed with straw or other
litter furnished for bedding as to practically ex-
clude air. Little or no heating takes place, and
there is no loss of fertility through leaching or any
of the processes which take place when the manure
is piled in heaps in the open air.

The problem of keeping the cows clean is a sim-
ple one and consists in supplying plenty of bedding.
Straw is usually very cheap and can be had in un-
limited amounts under most conditions. Shredded
corn fodder also makes an excellent bedding for
cows, and is used with great success by some dairy-
men for this purpose. After the cows have eaten
all of the fodder they will, there will be consider-
able quantities left which are not edible, but which
will make very good bedding. It has great ab-
sorbent properties and is especially desirable on
this account. Cows managed in a yard of this kind
will undoubtedly have better health, because they
are free to move about, receive more air and have
access to water as they desire instead of stated in-
tervals. Air, sunlight and cleanliness are essential
in every dairy barn of whatever type.

ILLINOIS DAIRY EXPERIENCE

The question of the returns from market dairy-
ing, or the making of milk for the city markets, is

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY 135

one which has attracted much interest and discus-
sion within recent years in all the large dairy sec-
tions of the country. This is especially true in the
dairy districts which furnish the milk supply of
Chicago. Farmers, on one hand, claim that the high
cost of feed and labor has made the production of
milk at present prices unprofitable, or at best given
only a narrow margin of profit. The distributors
say that the increased cost of handling the milk,
due to more stringent sanitary regulations, as well
as to the general increase in labor and other ex-
pense items, has made it imperative that they re-
ceive more money.

This contention between the producer and the
distributor has resulted in the formation of associa-
tions among the farmers calculated to insist upon
higher wholesale prices. Whether or not any ap-
preciable gain will come to the farmer through agi-
tation, it is certain that somebody was getting I cent
per quart more for milk in 1910 than in 1909, be-
cause the consumer had to pay 8 cents then, instead
of the 7 cents formerly demanded.

There is no question that the expense of pro-
ducing milk has risen very materially and much
out of proportion to any trifling increase farmers
may have received for their product. However this
may be, there are dairymen who have made profits
even under the most unfavorable conditions of pro-
duction, cost and the markets. The average dairy-
man has likely just about been holding his own,
while there is a considerable class of farmers of
indifferent methods, whose dairy operations are re-
turning them a net loss. The dairymen who have
put the maximum amount of intelligence and busi-
ness management into the conduct of their business
are not seriously complaining about low markets

136 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

nor decreased gains. By attention to details and
by the utilization of the most approved methods of
dairy and farm management, they have been able to
offset the increased cost of production by a corres-
ponding increase in efficiency of their milk-produc-
ing machinery. They have increased the producing
capacity of their cows by selection and intelligent
feeding, and have kept down operating expenses by
the installment of labor-saving machinery.

For instance, one cow will produce 6,000 pounds
of milk per year, with practically the same feed
consumption as another cow which produces only
4,000 pounds per year. This difference in produc-
tion represents the difference in efficiency of the
two animals. The wise dairyman who has dis-
carded the 4,000-pound kind of cows and given his
feed to the 6,000-pound sort is the man who is not
seriously complaining about the milk market.

Granting that market conditions, the cost of pro-
duction and the increased expense of feed and labor
have worked a hardship upon the average dairy-
man, the experience and methods of such farmers
as have been able to overcome these unfavorable
conditions should be of especial interest and value.
Definite facts and figures are hard to obtain. Com-
paratively few farmers, even after all that has been
said as to keeping farm accounts, have any actual
figures upon which to base definite estimates. The
experience, therefore, of a man who can show ex-
actly to the cent the results of his year’s dairying
operations is of great interest. The figures fur-
nished by F. B. Pratt of Du Page county, IIl., cov-
ering his dairy operations of 1909, have created a
ereat deal of comment in the local and agricultural
press and are well worthy of consideration.

It should be said in advance that Mr, Pratt is

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY 137

the manager of a large stock farm, which demands
all his own time, and conducts his dairy as a side
issue, depending entirely upon hired labor, under
his more or less personal supervision.

His farm consists of 13134 acres, in addition to
which he handles 80 acres of rented land. In 1909
his crops consisted of 60 acres of corn, 30 of which
were placed in the silo and 30 husked from the
shock, 20 acres of alsike clover, 20 acres of red
clover and timothy and four acres of rye. He had
some 15 acres of oats and the balance of the land
is in pasture. Farm equipment includes two silos,
an 18-horse power gasoline engine for running the
silage cutter, feed grinders and pump, and such
machinery as would ordinarily be used in conduct-
ing a farm of this size.

His milking herd consisted of 59 head of Hol-
steins, five of which were pure bred, and the bal-
ance were high grade. The milk from this herd
was sold to the condenseries at current market
price, absolutely no advantage in price being re-
ceived for the excellent sanitary conditions under
which it was produced. Contrary to the average
dairy, the greatest output from this farm was in
the winter months, although the amount sold re-
mained fairly equal throughout the year, varying
from 32,000 to 42,000 pounds monthly. The total
amount sold to the condensery amounted to 426,150
pounds. Adding to this 18,360 pounds fed calves
and 3,876 sold locally, the total production of this
herd was 448,396 pounds, or 7,600 pounds of milk for
each cow. The average price paid was $1.40 per
hundred, making the gross production per cow
$106.40.

138 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING
FIGURES ARE CONCLUSIVE

A very complete book account was kept by Mr.
Pratt, including absolutely all expense items, in-
cluding also depreciation in value for such cows as
had passed the age of greatest value, also deteriora-
tion of machinery, taxes and insurance, and allow-
ing 5 per cent interest upon an investment of
$20,000. Every item which could reasonably be
charged against the gross operation of the farm was
added to the expense account, and even then the
net profit amounted to $1,977.40. This record is so
remarkable as to have occasioned doubts of its ac-
curacy among some well-informed dairymen, but
Mr. Pratt has the figures, the bills for cash ex-
pended and the statements of the condensery as to
amount of milk received, and the figures are ab-
solutely conclusive.

After ascertaining the fact that the record was
actually made under genuine farm conditions, by
a dairy operated for profit and not for pastime, I
was especially interested in learning from Mr.
Pratt the methods of feeding and management
which contributed to this result. The distribu-
tion of his crop has already been described. Very
little dependence was placed upon pasture, its prin-
cipal use being to give the animals exercise in the
fresh air daily. All feeding was done, summer and
winter, in the barn. Stated amounts were not given
each animal, but the amount fed was gauged rather
by the consuming and producing capacity of the
animal. The previous year’s supply of corn silage
lasted until June, and at this time four acres of rye
and three of alsike clover were cut and placed in
the silo for summer feeding. This was run through
the silage cutter and very finely chopped, carefully

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY 139

packed and remained in excellent condition until
entirely consumed. This seven acres of rye and
clover Mr. Pratt considers the most profitable crop
he raised. It lasted from the middle of June until
September, when the new corn silage was ready
to use. He fed the cows all they would eat of it,
and assured me that the results from its use were
of greatest benefit in maintaining the flow of milk
during the period of the summer when the dairy-
men depending upon pasture always figure on a
heavy decrease in production.

SILOS FURNISH MOST FEED

His two silos are filled with finely-chopped corn
silage in September, and this feed supply will
easily last until the coming June, when some of the
summer silage will be ready for use. The grain
ration consists of equal parts of finely ground corn
and cob meal, dried brewers’ grains, bran and wheat
middlings. The silage and grain are fed night and
morning and clover hay at noon.

There is nothing in the management of this farm
that cannot be duplicated upon any farm in Illinois.
The two factors of its success are: First, using
cows of high-producing capacity. Second, utilizing
by means of the silo the best dairy feed, and the
absolute elimination of waste by feeding in the
barn throughout the year. Such feeds as brewers’
grain and shorts, which are purchased on the mar-
ket, Mr. Pratt buys early in the season in carload
lots, instead of paying the advanced prices de-
manded later in the year. Results upon similar
farms in the same county, figuring absolutely the
same items of expense and receipts, figuring the
same interest upon land valuation and the same cost

I40 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

for labor, show an absolute net loss of $4 to $5 per
day. The difference between the approximate
$2,000 loss and $2,000 profit represents the differ-
ence in the standards of efficiency and management
of the two farms.

PAYS TO RAISE CALVES

How to profitably raise calves for use in building
up the standard of dairy herds has always been a
puzzling question to the farmers producing milk
for city markets, where there is no skim milk or by-
products of any kind to feed young animals. As
we noted before, Mr. Pratt fed more than 18,000
pounds of this expensive milk to fifteen head of
calves. “Isn’t this a rather expensive method of
producing stock,” I inquired of Mr. Pratt. “Well,
I fed this 18,000 pounds of milk, which was worth
$235 upon the market, to fifteen head of Holstein
calves. I sold three or four of these the other day
for $50 per head. These were not pure breds, but
simply well-graded calves. I can secure this aver-
age for the whole bunch. In other words, I will
sell for $750 animals that were produced with $235
worth of milk.

“At the present values of good dairy stock it
pays to feed this expensive market milk to the
calves. I feed them until they are three months
old, gradually introducing crushed oats and other
easily assimilated feeds until the complete change
is made from milk to dry feed, without any serious
detriment to the growth of the young animal. Under
present conditions I do not think the making of
milk for market, profitable as it has proved for me,
represents the greatest or most profitable type of
dairy farming. I intend to install very shortly a

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY 141

complete apparatus for churning and _ handling
butter upon my farm. Some of the best butter-
makers are now obtaining 5 pounds of butter for
each hundred pounds of milk. Even if I can only
secure 4%4 pounds per hundred pounds of milk, I
figure that I can secure as great cash returns as
though the milk were sold upon the market, and
have left as clear gain the skim milk, which I shall
utilize in feeding calves and pigs.

“Four and one-half pounds of butter, which
ought to bring 30 cents per pound, amounts to
$1.35, or within 5 cents per hundred pounds of my
last year’s average for market milk. The by-
product in the form of skim milk retained upon the
farm and fed to young stock ought to increase the
profits by one-half. In addition to this we will be |
spared the labor and expense of making daily de-
liveries of the large bulk of the milk output.

“T think it is probably true that the distributor
exacts too great a profit, yet I am sure that the
ultimate success of the dairy industry does not
depend so much upon boosting the price as it does
upon the development of more intelligent methods
of dairying. The percentage of profit or loss from
dairying operations in this county is pretty accu-
rately measured by the degree of skill and special
management which the individual dairyman de-
votes to his business.”

INDIRECT RESULTS OF DAIRYING

The economical handling of manure produced by
dairy animals for the enrichment of the soil is by
no means the least important consideration in de-
termining the merits of the industry. The soil of
exclusive dairy sections is usually very rich after

142 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

a few years of dairying, because not only is all the
grain and forage produced upon this land returned
to it in the form of manure, but large quantities of
concentrated feeds are purchased from outside
sources and fertility is also gained by the dairy farm.

The indirect returns from dairying are deserving
of fully as much consideration as the immediate
financial results. The most highly developed type
of dairying in regions of heavy forage and grain
production can, by using the silo for preserving
winter feed and by feeding soiling crops in sum-
mer, maintain one cow per acre of land. Very few

ELEVATION OF DAIRY BARN

are doing this, it is true, but it can be
done, and is being done in some notable in-
stances. The American dairyman should get
rid of a few of his cows and double the produc-
ing capacity of those he keeps. This improvement
in quality is the most imperative need of the indus-
try at this time. Coupled with this must be heavy,
intelligent feeding. Return to the soil of the dairy

PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY 143

farm the tremendous amounts of valuable fertility
produced by the stock in order to raise still larger
crops the following year. The effect will be
cumulative.

Greater fertility will produce heavier crops.
This, in turn, will maintain more live stock
and the process will be repeated in some degree
each succeeding year until the maximum producing
capacity of the land is reached. There is scarcely

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GROUND PLAN OF DAIRY BARN

a farm in the country today which has ever been
made to produce its maximum amount. The time
is rapidly approaching when the insistent de-
mands of an unsupplied market will drive the
American farmer and dairyman to more _ inten-
sive methods and will compel a largely in-
creased return from each acre of land now cul-
tivated. The field for intelligence and special man-
agement is no greater in any line of business than
is found in the dairy industry today. There is no

144 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

field which promises greater returns for the money
and skill expended, yet there is no industry which,
on an average, under present conditions, pays a
smaller percentage. ‘The instances are many where
large profits are made both in direct returns and
in the upbuilding of the soil, but the average re-
mains discouragingly low. It is high time for the
American farmer to awaken to his opportunities in
this field, and to get out of this important industry
the wealth that lies hidden in it.

CHAT aR xt

Sheep Under Farm Conditions

The sheep is known to have been under domes-
tication longer than any other animal. Whether
it was originally one of the species of wild sheep
still found in uninhabited places, or whether it is
a descendant of one of the wild species now extinct
is an undecided question. It has been under the
control of man for so many generations that it has
lost all of the original wild animal characteristics,
and is the most helpless and incapable of self-
preservation of any of the domestic animals. Cer-
tain it is that long before the most remote legendary
and Biblical times, the sheep was thoroughly do-.
mesticated, and was one of the most important
animals. In the western movement of settlement
across Europe and later across the Atlantic, this
animal has always been in the advance guard of
civilization. It was brought to America by Colum-
bus and subsequent Spanish explorers, and rapidly
obtained a foothold in the West Indies, Central and
South America and Florida. Later, the early Eng-
lish and Dutch settlers in New England and New
York brought numbers of sheep with them, with
the expectation of developing sheep growing in
their new colonies. Naturally, the Spanish im-
portations consisted of the fine wooled Merinos
which, at that time, made Spain famous as the
world’s leader in the production of fine wool and
fabrics; while the sheep imported to the North
were of the large, coarse-wooled varieties from
England and the north of Europe.

145

146 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Sheep, in the northern part of America, did not
thrive and increase very rapidly until late in the
colonial period, principally on account of the depre-
dations of wild animals, and because of oppressive
trade regulations imposed by the mother country.
In striking contrast was the development of the
sheep-growing industry in all of the Spanish-
American colonies. The original stock introduced
into the West Indies and Yucatan was carefully
preserved, and under the intelligent and fostering
care of the Spanish government, the number of
sheep rapidly increased. They spread over the
country with the same rapidity as the early Span-
ish settlers, soon obtaining a foothold in Mexico
and spreading from there northward into Texas,
New Mexico and California. As early as 1560, it
was written by a Spanish historian that “ much
woolen cloth was made this year in New Spain.”
By 1750, sheep were very abundant in the Spanish
province which is now New Mexico, and in 1773
they had spread into southern California. From
1775 to 1850 was the period of greatest Spanish
activity in California, when many missions were
established, and the first beginnings of permanent
settlement were made. Every Spanish mission
owned and fostered its large flocks of sheep, and
by 1825 the 17 missions between San Diego and
San Francisco owned more than 1,000,000 sheep. In
addition to this, the early ranchers of that period
owned, perhaps, as many more. All of these south-
western sheep were of the Merino type, being rela-
tively heavy wool producers and very light meat
producers.

At a period early in the nineteenth century the
present territory of New Mexico supported prob-
ably a greater number of sheep than it does

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS WA7

now. When the rush to the gold fields in Cali-
fornia began in 1849, creating suddenly an abnormal
demand for food products of all kinds, many of the
eatly Spanish sheepmen of this territory trailed enor-
mous flocks from the ranges of New Mexico across
the mountains, down the Gila and Salt rivers to
the Colorado, crossing at a point near the present
site of Yuma, then across the Mojave desert of Cali-
fornia, across the Sierras and up the coast to San
Francisco, where they were disposed of to the
miners, during the first few years, at extremely high
prices, and brought heavy profits to their owners,
in spite of the 1,000-mile overland march to market.
The foundation stock of the entire western range,
which now supports approximately 70 per cent of
the sheep of the United States, came from these old
Spanish Merino herds. |
In the eastern part of the United States the sheep
industry has varied greatly at different periods.
At times the craze for fine-wooled sheep has taken
possession of the entire sheep-growing sections,
and fancy Merinos have sold at most exorbitant
Heures. At other times, the popular fancy has
tended to the coarse-wooled mutton breeds, and
the importations from English sources have been
correspondingly heavy. The East reached its
highest point in sheep production in the decade
following the civil war, when the territory east of
the Mississippi supported a little more than 24,-
000,000 head, against 11,000,000 owned west of the
Mississippi. From this time on the ratio has
steadily changed, the East gradually losing interest
in the industry on account of the competition of
the free western ranges, because of the greater
profits to be had from grain farming, and from
other forms of live stock, because of cheap wool

148 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

and a small market demand for mutton, until at
present the territory east of the Mississippi has but
17,675,000 head, while the western farms and
ranges carry 38,328,000 head.

THE DUAL-PURPOSE TYPE

The changing conditions of the past 20 years,
which have caused the constant decrease in beef
production as compared with the population in the
United States, has led to a constantly increasing
market demand for mutton. Several of our great
cities today demand more than a million head of
sheep yearly to supply their local meat trade, while
a few years ago only a negligible quantity of mut- _
ton was required. The land upon which sheep
are grown has constantly increased in value. Even
upon the free land of the western ranges, mainte-
nance expenses have very materially increased, so
that it has become no longer profitable to raise
sheep for the wool alone, as was commonly done
in the earlier history of the country. These chang-
ing conditions have led to a demand for a dual-pur-
pose type of sheep which will produce a reason-
able fleece, and still be of sufficient weight and
mutton quality that it will dress out a fair per-
centage of meat when placed upon the market.
There are probably no conditions in the United
States today which will justify the raising, on a
commercial basis, of sheep either for wool or for
mutton alone. This type of breeding is left en-
tirely to the breeders of registered animals, and is
not practiced by the breeders of ordinary market
sheep. Farm conditions demand a type of sheep
which will shear at least nine or ten pounds of wool
and which will produce a lamb which may be mar-

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS 149

keted under a year old at a weight of 85 to 90
pounds. This type has been developed by a blend-
ing of the extreme wool-producing tendencies of
the Merino, and other fine wool breeds, with the
blocky mutton form of the English mutton breeds.
Probably the most common course in developing
this type has been the use of Shropshire rams upon
the common Merino foundation stock. This is es-
pecially true in the western range country. When
lambs sell, as they have in recent years, as high as
544 cents per pound on the open range, and,
when fattened, for as high as Io cents per pound
aagene Chicago market, it can readily be seen
that we are far removed from the day when sheep
could be grown for wool alone.

BREEDING FOR WOOL AND MUTTON

This demand for a combined wool and mutton
type has shown its result in marked change in the
characteristics of the foundation stock of the coun-
try, both in the large flocks of the West and under
farm conditions in the East. While the Merino
characteristics are still easily discernible, the con-
tinued intelligent selection of the dual-purpose type,
and the long-continued use of rams from the Shrop-
shire and other mutton breeds, have produced
breeding stock which, to a large degree, represents
the dual-purpose ideal toward which progressive
breeders have been striving for the past 20 years.
The wool-producing characteristics have been pre-
served by the occasional use of Rambouillet or
Merino rams when it was seen that the type was
inclining too much to mutton form or when the
weight of the fleeces began to decrease.

In recent years the fattening of lambs for market

I50 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

has become an industry of large proportions, and
the feeders from eastern farms and from the west-
ern mountain valleys have searched for lambs of
the most desirable feeding type. This has led to
the practice on the part of some sheep breeders of
using rams of the extremely heavy mutton type,
such as Lincoln or Hampshires, upon the common
grade ewe, with the result that an unusually large,
heavy mutton form lamb was produced to be placed
in the feed lot at five months old. This has given
the feeders a lamb of large frame and great feed-
consuming capacity and a resulting heavier-dressed
carcass has appeared in the markets. This prac-
tice has been very successful in cases where all the
lambs were intended for sale. The cross, however,
is so violent that the product has not been satisfac-
tory when part of the lambs are kept for future
breeding. Generally, whether under farm or range
conditions, a desirable dual-purpose type of sheep
may be maintained by intelligent selection of breed-
ing ewes, and the alternation as needed of the type
of ram, using the mutton breeds when the stock
begins to incline too much to fineness of wool, and
using Rambouillet or Merino rams when the coarse-
wooled mutton type begins to predominate too
largely.

MANAGEMENT OF BREEDING SHEEP

The feeding and management of breeding
animals of any class differs very materially from
that of animals intended for the block. This is
especially true of sheep. The ewe lambs which
are intended for future breeding should be selected
as early as possible, preferably just after weaning,
choosing only those which conform most nearly to

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS I51

the desired type. At this time it is impossible to
determine just what animals are best, because of
their immature development, but the poor ones can
easily be eliminated later on as age and develop-
ment demonstrate their unfitness. These selected
lambs should be kept constantly growing, since any
setback in their development will never be en-
tirely overcome by any subsequent care that may
be given. Good, fresh pasture is the prime req-
uisite for the most satisfactory growth of lambs.
Provision should be made for supplementary graz-
ing for late summer and early fall, when the or-
dinary clover and blue grass pastures are likely to
become dry and poor. The stubble may be utilized
to good advantage at this time, or a number of
autumn grazing crops such as rye or rape, sown
in the growing corn, may be used.

DESIRABLE FEEDS

The method of feeding depends very much upon
local conditions. The feeds given will depend
largely upon the character of the crops produced
upon the farm. Under ranch conditions, the range
is depended upon, to a large extent, for winter sus-
tenance as well as for summer, and alfalfa or
timothy hay will be practically the only feed avail-
able. This is usually used only in times of severe
storms. The best eastern farmers who keep sheep
depend largely upon clover hay and roots for the
feed for their breeding. sheep in winter. It will
usually pay to feed a small grain ration even though
the animals are already in good condition. Just
what this grain ration will be will depend consid-
erably upon the kind and condition of the rough
feed. If clover or alfalfa hay is being used quite

152 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

liberally, a small ration of cracked corn and, per-
haps, a little oil meal occasionally, will serve to bal-
ance up the ration very evenly. In case mixed
hay and grasses or oat straw is being used, the
ration should include some grain rich in protein.
Bran or oats mixed with the corn will serve to
supply this need. The oil meal should always be
fed in the lump form to sheep, as they seem torelish
it more. It is best fed mixed with bran or cracked
grain.

Succulent feed of some sort is essential to the
best development of sheep under farm conditions.
This need may be met in a number of ways. Vari-
ous root crops may be grown which are easily
stored throughout the winter, and which furnish a
very satisfactory addition to the ration. Sugar
beets are probably the best crop which can be
grown for this purpose. The English and Scotch
shepherds are very partial to turnips for their
sheep feed, and these may be grown almost any
place in this country in liberal quantities. Ruta-
bagas, mangel-wurzels and other roots form very
satisfactory succulent feeds. The roots should be
fed finely chopped or sliced, so that there will be no
danger of choking. Where roots are not available,
silage is an excellent winter feed, furnishing not
only succulence, but having a high degree of nutri-
ment. Sheep will learn to eat it very readily, and
relish it. There is frequently danger in feeding it
in a frozen condition, and this should be guarded
against, as best results will not be possible from
its use for any kind of animals while in this con-
dition. Frequently, it is desirable to scatter the
grain upon the silage, so that the entire ration will
be consumed together. Mr. Richard Gibson of
Ontario, after 50 years of experience in sheep breed-

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS 153

ing and management, and after having won more
prizes for fine sheep than all the other breeders of
the United States and Canada combined, says: “I
attribute my success as an exhibitor to the frequent
feeding of a great variety of green feeds or forage
plants. I find that cabbage and kale are extremely
valuable green feeds. Turnips, when fully ripe, are
waiso tne.’ It will usually be best to cut down
somewhat the amount of succulent feed given for a
few days preceding lambing time, and then increase
it gradually to its maximum after the lambs are
born.

' EXERCISE IN WINTER ESSENTIAL

The ewes, during the winter, should be handled
carefully to prevent possible injury. Care should
always be taken that they are not rushed through
narrow doors, nor frightened by dogs, nor by
strangers going through the yards. It is also im-
pertant that they have plenty of exercise. It is
usually possible to give them access to large yards
or to some open field where they may browse about
a straw stack, or in the standing corn stalks, on
such winter days as the weather permits. In case
of long-continued, heavy snows, when this sort of
exercise is not possible, a passageway should be
made through the snow from one barn to another,
or from the barn to the feeding racks removed to
some distance, so that the ewes will be obliged to
take exercise enough to keep them in vigorous con-
dition. Animals which have been kept closely
stabled during the winter have frequently borne
lambs which were so weak and delicate that very
few of them survived. This was due entirely to
the lack of exercise on the part of the mother. It
is preferable that the sheep should spend as much

154 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

of their time as possible in the open, and under
ordinary conditions it is not necessary to house
them in tightly closed barns if a comfortable shed
opening into a roomy barnyard be provided, es-
pecially if the barnyard be well bedded or provided
with a good-sized straw stack. The animals will
spend most of their time, even in the coldest winter
weather, out of doors, seeking the shelter of the
shed only during snowstorms or wet weather.
Their heavy winter coat protects them from the
air, and the thick bed of straw will prevent any ill
effects from the cold ground. Under these con-
ditions, the sheep will be healthier and more vigor-
ous, and will come through the winter in better
condition than if they are constantly kept in a
warm, closed barn. The water supply, it is need-
less to say, should be ample at all times, but ex-
tremely cold water is not the best, especially for
pregnant ewes. Water fresh from the well or cis-
tern, or from which the chill has been removed by
means of a tank heater, is much to be preferred to
ice cold water.

The winter feeding and managing of rams does
not differ very materially from the keeping of
breeding ewes, except that it is not advisable to feed
a heavy ration of succulent feed. A small amount
of this can be given with good results, but it is
better to feed a larger proportion of dry feed.
Plenty of exercise is essential in order to keep the
animals in robust physical condition, and this de-
tail should not be overlooked.

LAMBING A CRITICAL TIME

Lambing time is the most critical and important
period in the life of the flock. At this time, un-
favorable conditions or a little neglect on the part

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS 155

of the farmer may result in the loss of large num-
bers of lambs, and the normal increase of the herd
wiped out. The breeding period should be so
timed that all the lambs will be born within the
shortest possible space of time, and in this manner
constant attention can be given during a lambing
period. Early lambs are usually more profitable
under farm conditions, because they can be matured

AN IDAHO LAMBING SHED

and marketed before the heavy shipments of range
lambs begin. Under range conditions, it is not
usually possible to have the lambing period until
the weather has become quite warm, as few of the
large breeders are equipped with lambing sheds or
other shelter. Good warm quarters for the protec-
tion of the flock during lambing time are essential
to the successful production of early lambs. It is
important that the young lamb should not suffer
from cold or become chilled during its early life,
when the vitality is naturally low. Heavy losses
will surely occur if the young lambs are exposed to
cold wind or to the rains of early spring. It will
be necessary to give a lot of attention to the flock

156 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

during this period to make sure that each ewe
recognizes her own lamb and takes care of it. It
will always pay to have a number of small pens in
the lambing shed into which the ewes with their
newly born lambs may be placed for a few hours
or days until the lamb has gained a little strength
and until the mother has become accustomed to her
offspring.

The owner should be careful to notice whether
the lamb sucks during the first few hours
of its life. Occasionally the ewe will not permit
this, and in some cases it will be necessary to hold
the ewe and teach the young lamb to suck by giv-
ing it a little milk with a spoon to begin with.
Sometimes when a ewe has twins, she will pay at-
tention to only one of them, perhaps the larger and
stronger one. Such a contingency as this must be
guarded against. Frequently, it is possible to sep-
arate the twins, giving one of them to some ewe
whose lamb has died. Since ewes recognize their
lambs by means of the sense of smell, this trick of
transferring lambs to a foster mother is usually
accomplished by tying the skin of the dead lamb
on the live one, leaving it for several days until the
ewe has become used to the adopted lamb. As
soon as weather conditions permit, the ewes with
their young lambs should be turned out in open lots
or pasture during the warm part of the day. but
should be sheltered at night until the lambs have
become strong and have a protecting coat of wool,
because the chilly spring nights are apt to be in-
jurious to them if unsheltered.

FEEDING EWES AND LAMBS

The feeding of ewes after lambing does not differ
radically from the methods already outlined. The

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS 157

object of feeding at this period should be not only
to maintain them in as good condition of flesh as
possible, but to produce at the same time a heavy
flow of milk. Naturally, the ration should include
as large a proportion as is thought advisable of
succulent feed, and such forage and grain as will
furnish a large proportion of protein. If only a
limited amount of alfalfa or clover hay be avail-
able, it is advisable to feed corn fodder earlier in
the season, and keep this hay until after lambing,
as it will, at this time, serve for best results.
Timothy hay and prairie hay are probably the
poorest forage feeds which can be given at this
time, and their use should be supplemented by
liberal amounts of bran and oats. A satisfactory
ration for ewes with lambs by their sides will be
about 4 pounds of corn silage, 1 pound of mangels
or other roots, and about 1% pounds of mixed
grains, for each 100 pounds of live weight. This
mixed grain should consist of 100 pounds of wheat
bran, 25 pounds of oats, 25 pounds of cracked oil
cake, and a little corn. In addition to this they
should have all the clover hay they will eat, and if
they have access to bright, clean straw, so much
the better.

SUMMER PASTURE AND MANAGEMENT

As early as possible in the spring the sheep
should be placed upon pasture. It is essentially a
grazing animal, and the best and cheapest gains
are made from pasture. The change from the dry
feed of winter to the soft, green feed of early spring
should be made somewhat gradually, especially if
the supply of succulent feed has been low. Fre-
quently, a few hours in the middle of the day is all

158 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

that it is advisable to pasture the animals, feeding
them their regular ration in the morning and even-
ing. After the first few days, when the grass be-
comes stronger and contains more nutriment, the
animals may be left continuously upon pasture with-
out serious detriment. Ordinarily, no feed is given
while pasture is good, although this is frequently
profitable when some special object is sought, such
as the fitting of sheep for fairs or rapid growth of
the lambs is desired for an especially early market.
Grass, water and shade are essential for the best
growth in summer. Close account should be kept
of the animals, especially in late summer, when the
grass is likely to become poor and dry, and extra
feed should be given upon any indication of re-
tarded growth.

When the spring lambs are intended to be fat-
tened for market the following fall, it is especially
important that they be kept growing and thriving
from the very day of birth. This continuous
growth has been well begun when the management
of the ewes has provided for a liberal flow of milk
for the young lambs during their early life. This
gives them a good thrifty start, and encourages a
rapid, strong development, so that at a very early
age they will begin to eat a little of the feed or
pasture which supports their mothers. This
amount of solid food taken will rapidly increase as
the animals are placed upon tender pasture, and at
an early age the lamb will be drawing its sus-
tenance from the two sources. The lambs will
learn to eat a little crushed grain or bran before
they are very old, and if this be kept before them
they will consume increasing amounts of it during
the summer, with marked effect upon their growth
and condition.

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS 159

If it is impossible to change the sheep from one
pasture to another as the grass becomes poor, then
the feed supply may be increased with some of the
first cutting of clover or alfalfa, and later in the
summer the green corn may be cut and fed in the
open pasture with good results. It is easy to pro-
vide plenty of good green feed for autumn by sow-
ing quick-growing crops in the stubble field, or in
the growing corn, and pasturing this in September
and October. By this means the lamb will receive
no setback in its growth from the time of its birth
to its arrival in the fattening pen. This change
from pasture conditions to the feed lot is a critical
period, and should be made gradually. The lamb
should be weaned some time previous to its removal
from the pasture to the feed lot, so that its milk
ration and the green feed of the pasture shall not
be taken away at the same time. If good, green
grazing has been provided for the period just fol-
lowing weaning there need be no bad effects notice-
able when this change is made.

DOCKING

Docking young lambs is an almost universal cus-
tom. The only section of the country where this
is not commonly practiced is the territory of New
Mexico, where the wether lambs are often left un-
docked. A flock of long-tailed sheep in the stock
yards is put down at once as New Mexico stock,
so prevalent is the docking custom in all other
sections of the country. The tail is a useless ap-
pendage, hard to shear and of more nuisance than
benefit to the animal, and this is the reason for
docking. The lambs are usually docked at from
ten days to three weeks old, because at that age the

160 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

wounds will heal quickly and little pain or discom-
fort is experienced. Some growers use a sharp
knife, cutting off the tail at a single blow, while
others prefer to use a chisel. When the chisel is
used, the lamb is drawn against a block, and the
tail severed by a single blow, leaving a stub about
2 inches in length. Under farm conditions, brand-
ing or ear marking is usually unnecessary, while
under range conditions it is absolutely essential.
If the ears are to be marked, this may well be done
at the same time that the lambs are docked.

SHEARING

Shearing should be done as early in the season
as weather conditions will permit. The old cus-
tom of waiting until June or even midsummer be-
fore removing the wool was an unbusinesslike one,
reducing the amount and value of the wool re-
ceived by the owner and undoubtedly causing great
discomfort to the animal which had to wear this
heavy coat during the extremely warm weather.
The old custom of washing the sheep before shear-
ing has also passed away, and is probably no longer
practiced anywhere in the United States. Shear-
ing is done either by hand or by means of machin-
ery. It is very doubtful if shearing machines are
profitable under farm conditions where the flocks
handled are comparatively small. It requires two
men to operate a small hand-driven machine, and it
is doubtful if results justify the double expenditure
of labor thus necessitated as compared with hand
shearing, while the installation of a power plant
calls for a number of machines, which would not
be justified by the small number of sheep handled.
It is unquestionably true that a small additional

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS 161

amount of wool can be obtained by the use of
shearing machines, since they clip much closer to
the skin than it is possible to do by hand. This
is not a distinct advantage, however, under all cir-
cumstances, since sheep which have been thus
closely shorn, if exposed continuously to the sun
and wind immediately afterward are likely to suf-
fer from a blistered skin.

MACHINE SHEARING

Machine shearing is practiced quite extensively in
the range country, where the large number of
animals justify the outlay necessary for a large
plant. It is customary to install the plant at some
convenient point on the railroad where the sheep
owners may drive their flocks for shearing, and thus
save the expense of hauling the wool a long dis-
tance by wagon. These plants are operated by
steam or gasoline engines, and may have from ten
ta) 30. machines im operation. They are placed
where the number of sheep handled may amount
to several hundred thousand in the course of a year.
Even in the range country, opinion is considerably
divided as to the relative merits of hand or ma-
chine shearing. An objection frequently given by
western sheep men is that the vibration of the
machines in shearing pregnant ewes has frequently
resulted in abortion and other severe injuries, which
have offset any possible gain from the use of the
machines. The experience of others does not seem
to bear this out... The probabilities are that the
injuries come fully as much from rough handling
on the part of the machine operators as from the
motion of the machine itself.

162 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING
CARE OF WOOL

The handling and packing of the wool is a matter
of considerable importance. Eastern wool growers
who have to handle comparatively few sheep take
great pains in folding and tying each fleece. and
in the packing of the wool, with the result that
their product commands a higher price than the
average western wool. The fleece is spread upon
the floor, the edge turned in and the entire fleece
folded into a neat compact bundle. Often a fold-
ing box is used to compress the wool and make
each fleece into a bundle of the same size and gen-
eral outline. It is then carefully tied with wool
twine and packed into a regular wool sack. Where
the fleece is of an unusually fine quality, free from
dirt and bits of brush, as is usually the case under
farm conditions, this extra care in handling and
packing the wool will pay good profits for the time
and labor expended.

TREATMENT FOR PARASITES

Hundreds of years of domestication have made
sheep in some respects a delicate animal, and
singularly susceptible to disease and to the attacks
of parasites, both internal and external, when con-
ditions are at all favorable to the development of
either. The heavy coat of wool also furnishes
favorable environment for the protection and
growth of insect parasites. For this reason, the
methods of combating these enemies of the sheep
are of great importance to the grower. Of all the
external parasites, scabies has probably caused the
most serious damage to the sheep industry, with
ticks a close second. Until comparatively recent

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS 163

years, scabies was considered an eruption upon the
skin from some unknown affection of the blood,
and there was little or nothing to be done in the
way of combating it. Modern investigation and
the microscope, however, revealed the multitudes
of mites working upon the surface of the skin, and
when the true cause was known it was only a ques-
tion of time and experimentation when definite
remedies were produced. At present, this disease
has largely disappeared from the range, due to per-
sistent dipping and disinfecting, and there is abso-
lutely no excuse for its continuation under farm
conditions. A few dollars invested in a dipping
plant and a few hours’ work once or twice a year
will serve to keep the sheep free from not only this
disease, but from ticks, lice and other parasitic
pests which may infest the herd. The type of
dipping plant desirable will depend entirely upon
the number of sheep to be handled. If several
hundred head are supported upon the farm,
it will pay to install a plank or cement-lined vat.
This should be made about 5 feet deep, 30 inches
wide at the top and tapering to about 8 inches wide
at the bottom. It may vary from 28 to 30 feet in
length, if only a few hundred are handled, to 100
feet long, as is the case when several thousand are
to be handled. When only a small number of
animals are kept, a galvanized iron dipping tank
may be purchased at small cost, which will serve
very well. There are many different dipping prep-
arations upon the market which are guaranteed
to destroy any of the ordinary parasites. Any of
these preparations bearing the indorsement of the
federal bureau of animal industry may be consid-
ered reliable, and should be used at exactly the
strength indicated by the directions.

104 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Internal parasites, such as stomach worms, may
be easily controlled. There are a number of medi-
cated stock powders which can be fed to the sheep,
and which will destroy these parasites, but prob-
ably the most common and effectual remedy is the
feeding of ordinary tobacco stems. Powdered to-
bacco may be mixed with grain or bran, and fed
to the sheep if desired, but the refuse stems should
be placed in the feeding stalls where the sheep have
easy access to them. They will usually soon learn
to nibble at them, and eat small portions, which
will be sufficient to keep them free from the or-
dinary internal parasites.

FEEDING LAMBS FOR MARKET

There is no branch of animal husbandry which
has attracted more attention, in recent years, nor
from which greater profits have been realized than
from the fattening of lambs for market upon the
farms of the middle and far West. There have been
some years when heavy losses have been incurred,
due to extravagant prices exacted by the sheep
raisers, by the high price for feed, or low condition
of the market at a time when it was necessary to
sell these lambs. But taking any considerable
term of years together, lamb fattening has proved
a profitable industry in every community where it
has been undertaken within the past 20 years, and
it is becoming increasingly so at present because of
the continuously increasing demand for mutton in
the face of a practically stationary supply. Itflarge
profits have been realized by feeders who have paid
from 3 to 5%4 cents per pound for the original stock,
and paid high prices for all the feed consumed by
it, it can be readily seen that the farmer who has

AdAL GHAOUddV AO SYHHLUAM NOLLOIN

HIGH=CLASS POLAND CHINA HOGS

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS 165

kept a few score or a few hundred sheep upon his
pasture and waste land, and has received, as prac-
tically clear profit, the market returns from all the
lambs he raised, has a source of revenue from his
small flock of sheep which is equaled from no live
stock investment which it is possible for him to
make.

For most markets, the feeding process is begun
late in October or in November. In addition to late
fall pasture, such as rye or rape, the lamb will have
been eating a good deal of straw, corn fodder and
other dry forage, so that by the time he is actually
confined in close feeding pens and placed upon a
fattening ration, his digestive system has become
accustomed to the dry feed, and he will be in con-
dition to handle in an economical manner large
amounts of forage and grain, and should gain al-
most from the first day. Roots and succulent
feeds are not essential in successful lamb feeding.
Exhaustive experiments conducted at the Iowa sta-
tion indicate that, under some conditions, these
feeds may be detrimental to the most economical
gains. A well-balanced ration of hay and grain,
plenty of water, a favorable climate and regular
feeding are the factors which produce nearly all of
the fat lambs which are marketed in the great pack-
ing centers of this country. Alfalfa is beyond
question the best forage for fattening lambs.
Clover, cowpeas or some other leguminous forage
crop is almost indispensable. Where it is impos-
sible to secure forage of this character, sugar cane,
kafir corn or millet which have been cut at the
proper period and carefully cured, will produce good
gains when used in connection with a liberal grain
ration. Nearly all of the hundreds of thousands
of lambs fattened in the far West receive only al-

166 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

falfa or cowpeas, with a small ration of corn,
throughout the feeding period. In the middle
states, clover usually takes the place of alfalfa, and
a little more liberal corn ration is probably the rule.

The grain ration will usually consist of corn, and
it is generally conceded that better results are ob-
tained from cracked corn than by feeding it whole.
The amount given will be very small to begin with,
and will be gradually increased throughout the
feeding period. The best practice, especially where
large numbers of lambs are handled, is to have one
pen containing troughs for the grain apart from
the pens in which the roughage is fed. The grain
is placed in these troughs, the gate opened, and the
sheep from one pen allowed to enter and eat their
grain. While they are doing this, the hay or forage
is placed in the racks and when the grain is con-
sumed these lambs are driven back into their pen and
another lot given grain. Small amounts of oil meal
or crushed oats, or both, may be introduced into the
ration with good effect, but these are not usually
essential, and some of the most economical gains
which have been produced have resulted from
cracked corn as the sole grain ration. Lambs
should average, perhaps, 60 pounds when they are
placed in the feed lot, and after a feeding period of
from 60 to 90 days, should weigh from 90 to 95
pounds. Frequently, heavier weights than this are
obtained, but when a lamb weighs more than 100
pounds, he is likely to be discriminated against by
the buyers, and may possibly have to be sold for a
sheep instead of a lamb, with the resulting lower
price.

Whether or not to clip before shipping, depends
entirely upon local conditions. In the far West
lambs which have been brought from the range in

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS 167

December are frequently fed until April, then shorn
before shipping. There is no definite rule by which
it can be determined whether this early spring
shearing pays or not, since ordinarily the approx-
imate value of the wool will be deducted from the
market price of the shorn lamb. ‘There is always to
be considered the possibility of a sudden change in
the weather, which may result in severe loss in
case the shearing is done in extreme early spring.

FATTENING GROWN SHEEP

The feeding of wethers or grown ewes for mar-
ket is not greatly different from the method out-
lined in fattening lambs. Where pasture is plenti-
ful, lambs intended for market may be profitably
kept until they are yearlings or older in order to
secure one or two wool clips, as well as the in-
creased weight at marketing time. However, it
should be remembered that the market price per
pound of matured sheep is always less than that of
fat lambs. This class of sheep, kept upon good pas-
ture throughout the summer and placed in the feed
lot in the autumn, will usually make excellent use
of grain and hay given, and may be marketed dur-
ing the winter. The only type of sheep which re-
quires special feeding is the old “ broken mouthed ”
ewe. When ewes become old, especially range
ewes, which have often been obliged to subsist on
hard, dry feed, such as sage brush, their teeth break,
and they become unable to consume dry forage or
hard grain in any considerable quantities. It is
frequently profitable to purchase these animals from
the ranges where they can usually be secured very
eieaply, and fatten ‘them for market, in case a
farmer is so situated as to have ayailable soft feeds

168 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

which they can make use of freely. They are pur-
chased in the spring or early summer and shipped
to the farms while the grass in the pastures is plen-
tiful and tender, and then later in the summer
special pasture crops, principally rape, are made
use of. By keeping them constantly on soft suc-
culent food of this character, it is often possible to
market them direct from pasture in the fall, and in
excellent condition for slaughter. Feeders living
in the immediate vicinity of sugar factories fre-
quently make use of the wet beet pulp, which can
be secured cheaply and in large quantities for feed-
ing animals of this class. Various concentrated
feeds, such as cracked or ground grain, alfalfa meal
or molasses from the factories, can be mixed with
it and a well-balanced ration secured, all from feeds
in a condition to be used by these animals to good
advantage. If they are fed throughout the winter
in this way, a heavy wool clip may be secured the
following spring before the animals are marketed,
and in this way very satisfactory profits are
secured.

ECONOMIC UTILITY OF SHEEP

Not the least marked of the valuable qualities of
sheep under farm conditions is their capacity for
utilizing materials which would otherwise be
wasted. As removers of weeds in the fields and
meadows sheep have no equal, with the possible
exception of goats. They will graze in out-of-the-
way places along the roadside and along the fences
where large quantities of vegetation grow, but
which it is impossible to utilize in any other way.
Stubble fields always contain a lot of secondary
growth of grain and weeds, as well as large amounts

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS 169

of headed grain which fell down or lodged before
harvest and was not gathered by the reaper. All
of this the sheep will pick up and transform into
mutton and wool, and several weeks’ good feed
which would otherwise be lost may be obtained
every year from the cut-over grain fields. Fre-
quently the corn fields can be pastured in the early
autumn, and enormous quantities of the lower
leaves will be eaten by the sheep without any in-
jury to the ears of the corn. Not only will large
quantities of other waste feed be utilized in this
manner, but a constant improvement of the land
will result. The old saying that “the sheep has a
golden hoof” is well borne out by the experience of
men who keep large numbers of sheep, in the con-
stant building up of the fertility of their soils.

SHEEP ON VALUABLE LAND

While it is true that sheep are well adapted to
grazing on semi-arid land and to utilizing waste
feed and the vegetation on land which cannot
be profitably managed in any other way, it should
not be inferred that they have no place on the
rich, high-priced farming land. An erroneous idea
has often prevailed that sheep are profitable only
on inferior land which is suited to nothing else.
This could hardly be farther from the truth. The
rich agricultural lands of England sustain an aver-
age of 680 sheep to every 1,000 acres, while some
of the best land in Scotland has supported at times
as high as 1,380 sheep per 1,000 acres. The best
agricultural states of America do not support an
average of more than 25 sheep to every I,000 acres.
Careful breeding and intelligent management of
sheep will return greater profits to the owner of

170 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

the valuable land of the middle states than he can
realize from any other live stock source, with the
possible exception of hogs.

FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY

It is from the farm districts that any marked
future increase in the total number of sheep in the
United States will probably come. The past 40
years have witnessed enormous decreases in the
number of sheep owned in this section, and the
phenomenal increase in the great flocks held upon
the western ranges. While this industry in the
West has probably not reached its greatest point
of development, we can hardly expect such con-
tinued increase in the future in this section as there
has been in the past. Yet there is an imperative
demand for more sheep and for more wool in this
country. During the year 1909, in spite of an ex-
tremely high tariff on wool, we imported not less
than $40,000,000 worth of raw wool from foreign
countries, while lambs selling for Io cents per
pound upon the Chicago market demonstrated an
undeniable shortage in the supply of mutton
animals for the block. Meat production of all
kinds in the United States is decreasing at an
alarming rate, and this decrease is rendered more
significant when the rapid increase in population
and meat-consuming capacity of the country is
considered. It has been pretty thoroughly demon-
strated that beef cattle cannot be profitably raised
on land which commands a market price of $200
to $250 per acre, as is the case in many sections
of the middle West, yet live stock of some sort
must be produced in order to consume the surplus
of grain and hay and in order to maintain a con-

SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS I71

necting link between soil fertility and crop pro-
duction. Hogs have always been largely depended
upon by the farmers of this region, and will con-
tinue to be, but it seems clear that there is room
for many millions of sheep at present on these
high-priced farms. The maintenance of sheep on
the farm is a profitable business, and the man who
likes this particular line of stock raising and is
willing to give close study to details of management
will be able to realize larger profits from this source
than from probably any other one branch of agri-
cultural activity. A start in the business does not
require a very large outlay of capital, and the in-
dustry is comparatively easy to enter. The most
prudent and advisable way to start in the sheep
business is to purchase a few good ewes of approved
type, and then expand as the knowledge of the busi-
ness grows and as circumstances seem to justify.
By this means, the farm will not be overstocked by
placing upon it more than it will support, and the
number can be gradually increased up to the total
carrying capacity of the land.

ROOM FOR EXPANSION

There are thousands of farms throughout New
England and the eastern and southern states, as
well as the middle and northwestern states, which
have considerable areas of land absolutely unfit for
anything but pasture. Much of this is over-
grown with brush and weeds unfit for cattle
pasture, and giving absolutely no return upon
fiom value. , Such: land’ as this is). ideal®) tor
sheep raising, except such of it as is extremely low
and wet, and may be made to produce large quan-
tities of wool and mutton and pay handsome divi-

172 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

dends to the owner by a system of intelligent sheep
husbandry. Large areas of land which are sus-
ceptible to cultivation in all parts of the country
are kept in pasture of a more or less permanent
nature. There is no more profitable method of
utilizing this grass than by raising sheep upon it.
Even where it is kept primarily for the use of milch
cows a considerable number of sheep can be pas-
tured without any apparent decrease in the carry-
ing capacity of the pasture. Any sort of grass
which is suitable for permanent pastures will be
consumed readily by sheep. Clover, blue grass,
vetches, brome grass pastures or any of the various
legumes planted primarily for soil renovation
make sheep pasture of the very highest quality. It
has been frequently questioned whether it is ever
safe to pasture sheep upon alfalfa. Severe losses
have occurred in many instances through its use,
but it is now well established that alfalfa may
be safely pastured if care is taken to grad-
ually accustom the sheep to its use. They should
never be turned into an alfalfa field hungry, and it
is usually better to wait until the dew is off in the
morning during the first week or two of grazing.
Cowpeas, rape or rye sown in corn stalks furnish
immense amounts of excellent pasture for sheep in
late summer and in autumn. For pasture in the
very late fall and very early spring, rye probably
has no equal, although its value for this purpose
has frequently been much underestimated.

CHAPTER Xi
The Swine Industry

The factors leading to success in swine husbandry
include good animals, good feed and good care. If
we fail to provide any one of these, no matter in
what perfect form the others may appear, a full
measure of success is impossible. In meat animals
conformation, constitution and type are the essen-
tials and are found in most perfect form in pure-
bred or high-grade animals. Such have the power
to convert a larger part of the feed consumed into
carcass than the scrub, which allows much of the
feed consumed to pass out of the system as waste
-matter. As to breeds, all have their strong and
weak points. A better feeding animal is frequently
secured by cross-breeding. This is understood to
mean the progeny of pure-bred parent stock. The
character of the progeny of pure-bred parents can
be foretold with a marked degree of certainty, but
of cross-bred parents not at all. The black breeds
usually give the highest grade meats with the least
offal, but many of them have been bred for heavy
points and consequently have lost fecundity. Re-
lief in this line may be obtained by using Chester
White, Duroc Jersey or Large Yorkshire sows
which are prolific breeders and excellent mothers.
These are bred to a pure-bred Poland China boar.
A Poland China boar and Yorkshire sow bring a
very superior feeder.

BREEDS AND TYPES

The question of what breed of hogs is best for a
farmer to raise is one upon which little definite
178

174 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

information can be given. Conditions are often
equally as favorable for success with two or more
breeds of hogs, and the breed chosen will depend
entirely upon the personal tastes and fancies of the
farmer. While one man’s fancy may lead him to
adopt the Poland China as his favorite breed, his
neighbor just across the road, situated under similar
conditions, may choose the Berkshire or Duroc Jer-
sey, and the success of the two may be equal. The
question of type, however, is one which is vitally
influenced by local conditions, and particularly by
the classes of feed which are best suited to the
locality. Hogs are divided into two general
classes or types, which are designated the lard type
and the bacon type. The lard type includes the
Poland China and similar breeds, which are char-
acterized by heavy weight and excessive production
of fat. The bacon type includes the Tamworth,
Yorkshire and similar breeds, which are character-
ized by the production of a large proportion of lean
meat, and are of wide, deep conformation suited to
the production of bacon. The lard type is primarily
adapted to the conditions of the corn belt, where
the principal grain produced is of a highly carbona-
ceous nature, and, therefore, peculiarly suited to
the excessive fat formation characteristic in this
type of hogs. The bacon type is more especially
adapted to regions where such grains as barley and
field peas are grown in profusion and where corn is
not the leading cereal crop. The highest-priced
bacon produced in the world is grown by the
Danish and Irish farmers, with the Canadian ex-
port bacon in close competition. The hogs produc-
ing this bacon receive no corn, but are fed upon
grains and grasses in which protein is the pre-
dominant element. Very excellent bacon is also

THE SWINE INDUSTRY 175

now being produced in the high valleys of the
Rocky Mountain states where alfalfa pasture, west-
ern grown barley, peas and sugar beets constitute
the ration.

In choosing the type of hogs to be bred, the
farmer should pay particular attention to the
natural conditions under which he is working, and
should breed the type of hogs that thrive best upon
the grains and forages his farm will produce. The
selection of the foundation stock for a herd of hogs
is of the utmost importance. Poorly chosen in-
dividuals of indifferent breeding will tend to trans-
mit their undesirable characteristics to their off-
spring, with the result that the quality of the entire
herd is likely to be low. Learn to appreciate the
strong points in whatever particular breed is chosen,
and then select those individuals for breeding which
most nearly conform to the ideal type. In select-
ing breeding hogs, either male or female, the follow-
ing points should receive consideration: Form,
size for age, quality and feet and legs. To thor-
oughly inspect a hog it is necessary to view it from
the sides, front and rear, both standing and in
motion. From the side, the hog should show a
rather short head, full jowl and neck, a strong,
rather arched back without any depression back of
the shoulders or at the loin, a deep body of good
length, and a deep, well-rounded ham. From front
and rear the side lines of the body should be straight
and parallel, and this will be true if the develop-
ment of shoulder, spring of rib and ham are uni-
form. Good quality is indicated by fine hair,
medium bone and absence of wrinkles and general
coarseness. Hogs coarse in type mature slowly
and fatten indifferently. Those possessing harsh
hair and skin and showing wrinkles will produce

176 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

inferior pork. Breeding hogs should have short,
strong legs and strong, upright pasterns. Lack of
sufficient bone as shown by weak, broken-down
pasterns, is a common defect noticeable in brood
sows, especially those that have been fed largely
on corn. In fact, feed has much to do with de-
velopment and strength of bone. A low, weak
back indicates weakness, and no young sow show-
ing such a defect should be kept for breeding
These two defects, weak pasterns and backs, may
be readily noticed when the pig is moved and often
when standing. Other common faults are coarse
shoulders open on top, poorly sprung short ribs
and narrow loin.

SELECTION FOR BREEDING

The fecundity of sows always appeals to hog-
raisers. The size of litters varies with breeds to
some extent, but still more with individuals. Statis-
tics compiled by the Indiana experiment station
show that the average size of several hundred of
Poland China, Berkshire and Chester White litters
were: Poland China 6.5 pigs to the litter, Berk-
shire 7 pigs to the litter, and Chester White 7.5
pigs to the litter. However, litters of these breeds
will vary from three or four to ten or more pigs to
the litter. Confinement and overfattening tend to
reduce fecundity. Again, sows that are sluggish or
over-refined in type are usually indifferent breeders.
So far as known, the sow controls the size of lit-
ters, and since fecundity is largely a family or in-
dividual characteristic, it is good policy to select
brood sows only from litters of which at least seven
pigs have been successfully raised. Select for a
sire a pure-bred animal, using as much care and

THE SWINE INDUSTRY 177

thought as the successful horseman uses in select-
ing his breeding stock. Use one that is recorded
in the herd books of the breed you select. This
registration is a guarantee of his purity and in-
sures a uniform conformity to the litters. This is
an item of value when they are ready for market,
and of satisfaction to their owner all through the
growth. He should be kept in good, vigorous,
thrifty condition, not fat, with plenty of exercise.
For summer, give him a pasture run or feed green
food in a large yard. In winter, part of his feed
can be roots. It is better if his quarters are away
from the other hogs. Handle him kindly, but with
an understanding that he must obey, and he will
be quiet and kind.

In the care of sows during pregnancy, remember
that the sow has two duties to perform, namely,
keeping up the functions of her own body and sup-
plying the unborn litter with the elements neces-
sary for its development. In order to properly
perform these duties, the sow’s feed must be rich
in protein. The ration should never be allowed
to become excessive in carbohydrates. One of the
greatest dangers to avoid is constipation. Al-
though feeding at this time will not need to be so
heavy as after the pigs are farrowed, it should be
liberal Aim to keep sows in good condition,
neither too fat nor too lean. The error of allow-
ing the sow to become fat would perhaps be least
productive of serious consequences. The mistake
in feeding breeding animals is most frequently that
of keeping such stock in a thin, half-starved con-
dition under the idea that the reproductive organs
are peculiarly liable to become transformed into
masses of fat. It should be borne in mind that the
main demands upon the sow are those for the build-

178 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

ing of new tissue; hence, the kind of feed is im-
portant. The nitrogenous or protein-bearing feeds
are needed at this time. These are oil meal, bran,
beans, peas, oats and barley, and to a moderate ex-
tent wheat. The forage plants that are especially
suitable for pregnant brood sows are the clovers and
their relatives, alfalfa, peas and beans. The or-
dinary pasture grasses are also of much value. In
feeding sows, always give the ration in such form
that the system of the sow will be at its best.
Never feed corn in large amounts to breeding stock.
It is too heating, and contains too much of the fat-
forming elements. During the winter season, the
hog’s system not only craves green feed, but bulk
is demanded. This is especially needed when con-
siderable confinement is necessary. To offset the
lack of green feed, there is nothing that surpasses
roots. These may be sliced or pulped and mixed
with the grain, or may be given whole, as a noon
feed. Some care must be exercised in feeding
roots, as they are laxative in effect, and if fed in
excessive amounts may bring about profuse action
of the bowels. Keep charcoal, ashes and chalk in
reach of the sows at all times. These act as a ver-
mifuge and preventive of disease and meet the hog’s
craving for mineral matter. The constant use of
such a preparation with a varied ration will, in a
large measure, prevent sows from eating their pigs
at farrowing time.

HOW MANY LITTERS?

One of the mooted questions of hog raising is
whether it is profitable to try to raise more than
one litter per year from the same breeding stock.
This problem is one which must be decided by each

THE SWINE INDUSTRY 179

farmer for himself and it depends entirely upon
the conditions under which he is working and the
equipment he has for caring for hogs. Pigs born
in the fall are never profitable unless the farmer is
prepared to take the very best care of them during
the winter. If he has warm shelter for them and
has an abundance of milk or ground feed and roots
with which to keep them growing, and has equip-
ment for heating or cooking this feed during the
cold months, fall pigs may be made to pay fair
profits. Unless they can be very carefully taken
care of, they will not thrive during the cold weather,
will become stunted, and it will be impossible to get
the growth out of them that is necessary for profit-
able stock production. To successfully raise two
litters per year from one sow, it will be necessary
to plan for the arrival of a spring litter early in -
March. This frequently will be found a disadvan-
tage because the weather at this time is usually
cold and stormy and not conducive to thrifty growth
during the first month of the pig’s life, which is a
vital period. By planning the arrival of the spring
litter at this time, the fall litter should be farrowed
by the middle of August or early September, so
as to have the fall pigs well started on their growth
before the cold weather arrives.

An important detail in the management of grow-
ing pigs, especially fall pigs, is to see that they get
plenty of exercise. The spring pigs will usually
take plenty of exercise of their own accord, es-
pecially when raised on pasture, but in winter,
when they are likely to receive a large concentrated
grain ration in the barn, there is danger that they
will become sluggish and not move about enough.
Pigs which are heavily fed, and take insufficient
exercise, will very probably develop the disease

180 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

known as thumps, for which there is no remedy,
and which almost invariably ends fatally. Further-
more, in the lack of exercise, the pig will not de-
velop bone and constitution, and will tend toward
the small blocky type of little constitution and in-
ferior breeding qualities.

FEEDS FOR GROWING PIGS

There is no feed more adapted to the needs of
erowing pigs than skim milk. This makes hog
raising a valuable adjunct to the dairy industry.

A BRICK FEEDING FLOOR

As the pig grows older, it can be fed increasing
amounts of grain with this milk by mixing the two
into slop. Bran,shorts and other mill feeds,or ground
oats and barley, with a little cornmeal, make ex-
cellent grains for use in connection with skim milk.

It has long been known that plenty of pasture
during as much of the year as is possible is abso-
lutely essential to the most economical hog grow-
ing. Conditions during recent years have served to
emphasize this need. The prevailing high prices
of grain have had a tendency to induce hog

THE SWINE INDUSTRY 181

raisers and breeders to rely on pasture for feed
much more than was formerly customary. All
pasture grasses are not of equal value. The
poorest kinds are much better than none, but the
benefit received from any depends largely upon
the management of both hogs and pasture. Al-
falfa stands at the head of the list, clover a close
second, with white clover, June grass and timothy
in the order named.

It is amistake to compel the hogs todepend entirely
upon the grass, even though the prices of grain and
mill feeds are high. The stomach of the pig is not
like that of the sheep and cow, and cannot be used
as a repository for a large amount of coarse feed
at one time. It has been found by experience and
experiment that hogs fed a half ration of cornmeal
while running to clover will make as rapid gains
as they will if confined and fed a whole ration, and
that, too, of a better quality of meat than that made
wholly from corn. The grass gives bulk to the
mass in the stomach, enabling the gastric juice to
circulate more freely through it, and digestion is
more completely accomplished than if grain con-
stitutes the entire ration. And, further, the clover
contains the elements that promote the growth of
bone and muscle which helps to make up a pretty
well-balanced ration.

PASTURE AND FORAGE

For late fall and winter pasture, rape and rye are
two of the most valuable crops which the farmer in
the corn belt can raise. Where he has an abundance
of alfalfa or clover so that it will not be pastured
too closely during the summer, this can be used dur-
ing the greater part of the winter. It will remain
in a partially green condition and will be eaten

182 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

with relish by hogs all winter except when the
ground is covered with snow. But, frequently,
there is no winter supply of this pasture. In this
case rape should be planted in the corn field at the
time of the last cultivation, and by the time the
corn has been gathered from the field there will be
a fine heavy growth of green, juicy, nutritious feed
which will be pastured by hogs and sheep until
well into December. In some other field rye should
be sown late in August or early in September. This
will grow up sufficiently to cover the ground before
cold weather stops its growth, and it will remain
green and in good condition for pasturing all win-
ter, so that when the rape is used up or destroyed
by frost, the rye can be used until green feed
makes its appearance next spring.

In the absence of conditions which favor winter
erazing, many farmers are using finely chopped
alfalfa or clover hay with excellent results. Al-
falfa meal, which can be purchased at almost any
feed store now, is particularly adapted to winter
feeding of hogs and it can be readily mixed with
chopped grain, or other feed. It furnishes a ration
of high protein content, and serves to add bulk to
the feed. This last is of greater importance than
many farmers have thought in adding to the health
and thrift of their hogs. An excessive concentrated
grain ration has been found less efficient than a
smaller quantity of grain fed in connection with
some bulkier feed, such as chopped hay or roots.

On farms where the amount of land which can
be devoted to hog pasture is not large, greater
efficiency of the pasture can be secured by using
the lot system of grazing. This consists simply
in having the grazing land divided into two
or more portions, so that one may be grazed while

THE SWINE INDUSTRY 183

the pasture in the other is growing up, and they
are used alternately. If the pasture be of a per-
manent nature, such as clover or alfalfa, it will
generally pay to go over each lot with the mowing
machine immediately after the hogs are placed on
the other lot. This cuts down the old dry stalks
that have been left and stimulates a new rapid
growth of young, tender shoots. There will be less
tendency to waste feed by this method than where
a large number of hogs are kept continuously in
one pasture, and it is also undoubtedly true that a
larger number of animals can be maintained on
a given area of land.

In some corn-growing districts, and more es-
pecially in some of the pea-growing regions of the
mountain valleys, the custom of “hogging off”
a crop has become quite common. This consists
simply of turning animals into a corn field or pea
field and allowing them to harvest the crop, con-
suming all they desire of the grain and keeping
them in the field until it is all cleaned up. Some
hold the idea that hogging off a crop is a shiftless
way of farming. This is based neither on facts nor
good judgment, according to the statement made in
a bulletin on this subject, issued by the Minnesota
experiment station. As a method of economical
feeding, the practice of hogging off corn has been
growing in favor during the past few years and
seems to be a practical and economical way of feed-
ing hogs for several weeks during the fall. A two-
years’ investigation into this subject was made at
the Minnesota station. Comparisons were made
with other methods of feeding corn and letters of
inquiry were sent to many farmers who had ex-
perimented with this plan. Asaresult, the station
is strong in its recommendation of this plan, viewed

184 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

from an economical standpoint brought about by
the reduced bill for labor. Pork was produced with
less grain by hogging corn than by féeding
ear or snapped corn in yards. Hogs fed in fields
gained nearly one-third more rapidly than those fed
in yards. The cost of fencing the corn field may
be from $1 to $2.50 less per acre than the cost of
husking corn. It requires no more labor to pre-
pare for subsequent
crops. fields that
have been hogged
off than those that
have been treated
- by the ordinary
< methods of harvest-
MOVABLE HOG SHELTER ing. Hogs waste

no more corn in
the field than when fed in a yard. They pick the
corn as clean as most men do in husking. Labor
in caring for hogs is not increased by hogging off
corn, but may be decreased if systematic methods
are employed.

FATTENING RATIONS

It is coming to be generally recognized that so
far as health, thrift and rapidity of gains are con-
cerned, corn alone, at least in dry-lot feeding, does
not give as satisfactory results, especially for grow-
ing pigs, as a combination of corn and some feed
adding protein to the ration. Wheat shorts is very
commonly considered the best feed to use with
corn for young pigs, but other feeds are on the
market which contain still larger quantities of pro-
tein, and their merits for pig feeding deserve in-
vestigation. With this object in view, the Iowa ex-
periment station conducted a series of experiments

¥
THE SWINE INDUSTRY 185

in swine feeding. In using meat meal and tankage
as supplemental feeds the following conclusions
were reached: that meat meal and tankage of
similar chemical composition are almost equal,
pound for pound, as a supplement to a corn ration
for growing pigs and fattening hogs. That grow-
ing pigs fed meat meal and tankage to the extent of
16% per cent of their ration, and older hogs hav-
iMsseiese reeds to the extent of ro per cent of their
ration with corn, ate more feed and made more rapid
gains than those fed on any other combination,
such as shorts, barley and corn, or shorts and corn
tested in these experiments. In dry lot feeding, a
ration composed of corn with either meat meal or
tankage, produced from 25 to 40 per cent faster
gains on quite mature hogs and from 50 to 60.
per cent faster gains on younger hogs than a ration
of corn alone. In every instance, the number of
pounds of feed required per hundred pounds gain
was decidedly less with the mixed ration.

Under certain special conditions it is possible to
raise and fatten hogs without the use of grain.
Farmers situated in immediate proximity to cream-
eries having large quantities of skim milk and
buttermilk which can be purchased cheaply, and _
farmers living near cities where the refuse from
hotel kitchens can be obtained, have frequently
secured large profits from hogs raised and fattened
on these materials. It is also possible to main-
tain breeding animals in a medium state of thrift
on pasture without the use of any grain, but this
is never an advisable practice where even a small
erain ration can possibly be supplied. Experi-
ments have shown conclusively that hogs on even
the best pasture grow faster and make vastly more
economical gains if a ration of grain be furnished.

186 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

The phenomenal rise in land values in recent
years has resulted in a depreciation of interest in
live stock production throughout the entire country.
This is applied with less force, perhaps, to the hog
industry than to cattle and sheep growing, but its
effect has been very noticeable even in this. In
addition, a short period of extremely low prices
was experienced as a direct result of the financial
flurry of 1907, when the hogs which had been raised
and finished on high-priced grain were marketed
at so low a price as not to pay for the grain they
had consumed. These two factors resulted in the
marketing of hundreds of thousands of breeding
hogs in all parts of the country. The direct
result of this move was in turn seen two years later
when the markets of the country offered the highest
prices paid for fat hogs since the civil war, and were
even then unable to secure a supply adequate for
the needs of the packers. The rapidity with which
the hog supply of the country may be diminished
or increased is one of the remarkable features of
the industry, and one reason why it is impossible
to forecast for any considerable length of time just
what the market supply or demand will be. The
supply will probably continue to fluctuate in the
future as it has in the past in sympathy with agri-
cultural conditions. This much, however, is cer-
tain: that hogs managed and fed in the most
economical manner, with a liberal use of pasture
and forage, and the feeding of minimum amounts
of high-priced grain, will pay higher interest on
the high-priced lands of the Mississippi valley than
will any other single class of live stock. Their
value as improvers of the soil should not be over-
looked. Although it is considerably less than that
of cattle and sheep, still they have a high value for

THE SWINE INDUSTRY 187

this purpose, probably much greater than has
usually been accorded them.

MARKET DEMANDS

The type of hog most favored in the markets is
very different from that demanded 20, 30 or 40 years
ago. Then the large hog, with the broad, fat back
and sides, was the type demanded. The taste of
consumers has greatly changed since then. The
popular demand at the present time is for early ma-
turing hogs weighing from 200 to 300 pounds each.
These hogs furnish a smaller amount of lard and a
relatively greater percentage of ham and bacon.
The public demand at this time favors light, lean
hams and thin, rather lean bacon, and this is pro-
duced only by the light, trim-built type of hog.
The farmer who would get the largest per cent of
profit must know the demands of the market, must
cater to that demand and produce what the buyers
want. This type of hogs should be brought to
maturity and marketed at from eight to ten months
old, certainly not more than ten months.

The unusually high prices realized for fat hogs
in the winter of 1909-10 will undoubtedly not be
maintained indefinitely. They were induced in a
very large degree by the definite shortage of hogs
throughout the country. This shortage will be
supplied within a year or two, and it is only
reasonable to suppose that lower prices will pre-
wail, | However, © 1t) is “extremely tnlikely that
the prices for fat hogs will ever again drop to the
low level which they have at times in the past, ex-
cept in the case of some unforeseen financial emer-
gency, such as occurred in 1907. The demand for
meat products is continually increasing in the

188 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

United States. The supply of mutton is practically
stationary, the supply of beef is decreasing, and
already the United States has practically given up
its former vast export meat trade because there
is absolutely not enough meat produced in the
United States to much more than supply the local
demand. The quickest increase can be brought
about by the hog breeder because of the large per
cent of increase in this class of animals. On ac-
count of the decreasing beef supply and the con-
tinually increasing population, it seems reasonable
to suppose that the consumption of pork in this
country will constantly increase, and, therefore,
furnish a continuously expanding market for all the
pork products we are able to grow through a con-
siderable term of years. The fact to be empha-
sized, however, is that careless and wasteful
methods in raising and fattening hogs must go.
There is no longer any place in American agricul-
ture for the type of farmer who is not willing to
mix with his farming operations the maximum
amount of brains and intelligence. He can no
longer depend upon feeding corn to his hogs in
small pens throughout the whole year as he did
years ago, and expect to make a dollar of profit.
Under present conditions, an ample supply of pas-
turage is the first requisite for success in raising
hogs. A certain amount of grain will be necessary
to profitable production. A willingness and ability
on the part of the farmer himself to select and breed
in the most intelligent manner, to feed economically
and efficiently, to know the markets and to be able
to take advantage of the conditions offered by the
market, will go a long way toward insuring per-
manent success.

CHAPTER X1if]

The American Horse Market

The total value of horses in the United States
at present is stupendous. According to carefully
compiled statistics, under date of January 1, Ig10,
the value of horses in the United States amounts
to the magnificent figure of $2,051,555,000. At that
time there were 20,212,000 horses in the United
States, giving an average value of $101.50 per head.
Of course, this is considerably higher than for a
number of years, because of the fact that values
have advanced rather than decreased. The demand
for horses is on the up grade and very strong, in
spite of the widespread introduction of automobiles
and other motor-driven machines. The supply
will not very easily overtake the demand. In fact, if
the past two decades are any indication, the demand
will increase faster than the supply. The population
of the United States is becoming greater and greater
every year, more land is being worked and the use of
horses is naturally becoming wider and wider. It
takes a long time to augment the horse stock of any
country, particularly where a lot of work is done in
the field. Such a large proportion of mares are
unproductive every season that the increase is
naturally slow. On an average, probably not more
than 1,500,000 colts are raised every year. When
it is remembered that a lot of horses go out of com-
mission every season because of age and disability,
the reason for this slow increase is readily apparent.

The future of the horse in America is assured.
When the bicycle became popular it was confidently

189

190 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

predicted that the horse industry was ruined. For
a time, indeed, it did look as if the business was
seriously impaired, but the bicycle had its day and
horsemen continued to prosper. With the advent
of the automobile in large numbers, the same pre-
diction was made, although in a half-hearted way,
for the bicycle era was still in mind. Although
automobiles have been sold in large numbers dur-
ing the last two years, it has not affected the price
of horses in the least. In fact, the advance in horse
values has been greater during that time than dur-
ing any previous period for a great many sea-
sons, so that the ordinary farmer, the stock raiser,
the breeder of pure-bred animals apparently has
nothing to fear. This is undoubtedly the opinion
of importers, for I909 saw an unusually large num-
ber of horses brought over from the old country.
This record of 1909 was exceeded by the im-
portations of the following year. This shows
that breeders as well as importers and farmers have
implicit faith in the future of the horse industry.
There is money, and lots of it, to be made in horses
properly handled and the reward to the general
farmer who keeps all the way from three or four
to 15 and 20 mares is positively assured. He can
raise his colts at very small cost, because his mares
can be used for farm work most of the time, and
his feed, of course, is cheap.

DRAFTERS ADAPTED TO FARMERS

The breeds and types of horses to be raised on
the American farm will be determined largely by
the monetary consideration involved. Not many
horsemen are raising animals from a purely senti-
mental standpoint. A few wealthy breeders are

THE AMERICAN HORSE MARKET Ig!

undoubtedly handling horse stock simply for the
pleasure they get out of it, or with some scientific
problem in view, but the great bulk of the horse
raisers in America are raising colts for profit. This
being true, the breed which will bring in the most
money, which is the most hardy and prolific, which
can be handled with the minimum expense and the
smallest percentage of loss, which will mature mod-
erately early and go on the market in prime condi-
tion, is the one to choose. With many farmers it

ZAZZ

AN ILLINOIS ROUND BARN

is the Percheron, for undoubtedly the raising of
gaat liorses. is) better “suited to the farmer of
America than the more specialized work of raising
saddlers, trotting horses, roadsters or even coach
horses. It requires less skill to produce a draft
animal than the more delicate type suited to light
harness or saddle conditions. Of course, any horse

192 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

must be given good care and attention, but the heavy
breeds are more rugged and able to withstand un-
favorable conditions better than the lighter type. As
a rule, therefore, the draft breed is the one for the
average farmer to choose. If he delights in a horse
of good action, of clean limbs, of good size, of
uniformly good disposition, he chooses the Per-
cheron. In some localities, particularly those
where foreigners predominate, the breed chosen is
apt to be colored by what was raised by these same
people in the old country. For example, Scotch-
men raise Clydesdales, Englishmen delight in
Shires. Belgians, of course, are exceeding popular,
being heavier than Percherons. These are admi-
rable animals and are being raised largely in many
parts of the United States. In the black ages
regions of the United States where mud is very
abundant at certain times of the year, horses with
legs free from hair seem to be more popular than
Shires or Clydesdales. It is, however, largely a
matter of preference and individual taste.

After the breed is decided upon, plan to stick to
one line and not to constantly change. It will pay
in the long run, in every respect. Then the choice
of breeding stock comes in and this is the para-
mount issue. No matter what reputation a breed
may have, no matter how long and satisfactory the
pedigrees are, profitable horse breeding on the aver-
age American farm will be impossible if, in select-
ing stallions and mares, particular attention is not
given to individuality. If the particular animals
you choose are not high class, are not prepotent,
are not prolific, you cannot hope to make any
money. The first thing to do is to get rid of your
scrub mares. It doesn’t pay to propagate inferiority
in horses. It is a more serious problem than with

THE AMERICAN HORSE MARKET 193

most other forms of live stock. An undesirable
steer or hog or sheep can be killed for meat and
something gotten out of it, but a scrub colt is a
source of loss and annoyance; consequently, get
rid of your poor mares; or, at any rate, do not
breed them. Pick out good individuals which have
proved good breeders or give indications of being
successful mothers. See that they have good bone,
are full of life and also see that they are well fed
and cared for.

In selecting a brood mare, length of loin and a
wide and deep rib must be given the highest con-
sideration. Select those showing feminine char-
acter rather than masculine. The mare’s jaw
should be lighter than that of a stallion. The neck
should also show refinement. If mares are to be
bought, two rules are a pretty safe guide. One is —
to buy the mare with a foal at foot. This gives the
purchaser an opportunity to see what kind of colts
the mare brings. The other is to buy young fillies
of the man who bred them. This gives an oppor-
tunity to see both sire and dam. In purchasing
pure-bred stock, of course, the pedigree or cer-
fificate must be right. See that the animal has
good ancestors. In conformation, the draft mare
should have the sloping pastern and shoulder, good
feet, excellent hocks, compact bone, and must have
a good disposition.

After the mares have been chosen, the selection of
a stallion requires the highest skill and the best
experience. He should be a horse of good size if
a drafter. He must be well balanced, strong and
virile in every particular. He must have a massive
jaw, a clear, bright eye, good width between the
eyes, indicating intelligence; he must have sound
feet; his bones must be clean and compact; all his

194 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

joints must be neat and free from defects; he must
be a powerfully built animal, capable of trans-
mitting all his good qualities to his progeny.

After you have decided what kind of a stallion
you want, probably no place is as satisfactory for
purchasing as the home of some reputable breeder,
where not only the sire, but the dam and frequently
the second and third dams, can be seen. If his an-
cestors are of the right type you may be pretty
certain that his colts will be satisfactory. Decide
fully what you want before leaving home, and do
not allow a seller to change your opinion. See first
if his age, color and marking correspond with his
certificate. Be very careful to examine his eyes,
for defective vision is transmitted with great cer-
tainty. A good draft stallion should have a heavy
jaw and a clean, neat throat. His ears should stand
erect; his crest should be well developed with a
neck of fairly good length. Few draft horses have
ever had too long a neck. This neck should be set
upon nicely sloping shoulders. Viewed from in
front, he should be wide, carrying his width all the
way back. He should be well muscled upon
shoulder, arm and forearm. His legs should be set
well under him and only medium in length. The
knee should be wide, carrying its width well down.
He should measure not less than Io inches below
the knee, nor less than 12 below the hock. Viewed
from the side, all his legs should stand perpen-
dicular to the body. The pastern should stand at
an angle of 45 degrees.

The length of the back, from shoulder blade to
point of hip, should never exceed the length of that
part of the quarter measured from the point of hip
to point of buttock. If depth of shoulder and
length of quarter each exceed the length of

THE AMERICAN HORSE MARKET 195

back, we have a near approach to the principle
of the arch, the strongest self-supporting figure
Eaowm to mechanics.. A long back is a defect
in draft horses. The body should be round, with
ribs well sprung and extending well downward.
This gives good lung capacity and indicates that
the stallion is a good feeder. A horse cut up in the
flank is a poor feeder, and cannot stand any extra
exertion.

A draft horse should be heavily muscled through-
out the hindquarters, for the hindquarters furnish
most of the power in drawing heavy loads. The
hock should be given more attention than any other
part of the horse, for draft horses go wrong because
of defective hocks more than from all other defects
combined. No hocks can be too good or too strong.
Viewed from both in front and at the side, the
hocks should appear broad, yet clean cut and free
from fullness. In front of the hock and slightly to
the inside, look closely for a spavin. Never buy a
stallion with a spavin, even though you pay a small
sum for him. The tendency for the development of
spavins is likely to be transmitted. Quality in the
horse is indicated by fine, short hair associated with
a soft skin, strong, solid tendons and bone that is
compact.

After all these things have been looked after, put
the stallion to the test of walking. This is the only
gait to which the draft horse should be subjected.
Give strict attention to every movement. The feet
should be lifted clear of the ground, placed down
evenly and in line. From behind the legs should
be kept well under him, the flexion of the hock even
and in line, the bottom of the feet showing at every
step. From the side, his stride should appear bal-
anced, quick and elastic. His every movement

196 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

should indicate strength and show that nerves,
muscles and tendons are made of the very best ma-
terial. The tendency among stallion salesmen is to
show the animals at a trot. The trot is of little
value to a draft horse and should be disregarded.

Do not buy a stallion excessively fat, for this
extra flesh covers a multitude of defects. One in
fair condition will be most satisfactory.

Be sure and test the stallion’s wind. Without
good lungs he is of no value. This is seldom done,
but it should be done in every case. Horsemen
generally recognize that defect in wind is trans-
missible to colts, so that it is of the very highest
importance. The present-day stallion of any of
the above draft breeds should weigh from 1,800 to
2,000 pounds when in moderate flesh. Two or
three hundred pounds can easily be added by a
little feeding if this is ever found desirable.

Another thing of utmost importance is to avoid
buying a stallion with a bad disposition. They are
not only difficult and dangerous to handle, but dis-
position is transmitted, producing colts that are bad
actors and resulting in loss in more ways than one.
Grade stallions should always be avoided. Occa-
sionally a grade stallion has every appearance of
being as good as a pure bred, but his colts will not
be as uniform, and a number of states are now pro-
hibiting the standing of grade stallions.

HANDLING STALLIONS

Upon the handling of a stallion will depend his
usefulness in a community. This refers to exer-
cise, shelter and feed. Corn is a very poor feed
for a stallion. Grass and alfalfa is undoubtedly
the best. Oats and bran rank second, while oats

THE AMERICAN HORSE MARKET 197

alone probably rank third. On western farms
stallions are kept on grass and alfalfa without any
grain at any season of the year. ‘These stallions
are the best colt getters in the world. They run in
pastures about four months of the year, then are
taken up and fed alfalfa the remainder of the time.
In the corn states, where this coarse grain forms
a considerable portion of the ration, the percentage
of mares in foal is smaller than in any other locality.
For example, in Colorado and Idaho the percentage
of mares in foal is highest, while in Indiana, Illinois,
Towa and Kansas the percentage is smallest. In
the light of these facts, the nearer we can get to a
grass ration the larger will be the number of colts
produced. The nearer we can get to a strictly corn
ration, the smaller will be the number of colts.
Ordinarily, stallions are fed too much rather than
too little. The feed for a stallion should be of the
very best quality. Badly cured or musty hay
should always be avoided. Clover and alfalfa, if
properly cured, have no equal. Clover and timothy,
mixed, is the next best hay. Good hay is every-
thing in feeding a stallion. No one grain should
ever be fed alone. If this must be done, oats cer-
tainly is the best grain feed. The next best is
barley, but it should always be crushed. A little
bran in addition to the grain feed will help.
Stallions should have plenty of exercise. They
must not be overworked, but if all stallions were
required to work a little every day in the year, the
results would be much more satisfactory. The fact
of the matter is few of them are ever required to
work at all. This is not only bad from the breed-
ing point of view, but it is the source of much
trouble from sore legs. If the animal cannot be

198 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

worked he should, at any rate, be given consider-
able exercise in the way of walking. He should
have at least a walk of three to five miles every day
and more if desirable. To describe a work rule is,
of course, no easy matter. Stallions are different
in temperament. Some require a good deal of ex-
ercise, while others require little. The exercise
should be sufficient to expand the lungs, quicken
the circulation, strengthen the nervous system and
harden the muscles. Real draft work in harness
is the very best exercise for a draft stallion. Draw-
ing the plow, harrow, disk, mower or binder will
not only furnish exercise for a draft stallion, but
will result in foals of the highest quality, possess-
ing a vitality that cannot be produced by a stallion
which does not work. Nor should stallions stop
work during the breeding season. A draft stallion
may work several hours every day during the sum-
mer; and if not abused, the harder the work the
better will be his foal.

CARE OF THE COLT

The care of the colt from the beginning is an
important proposition. It goes without saying that
every colt must be properly fed from the start.
Begin by feeding the mares liberally so that the
milk supply will be abundant. Well-cured clover,
hay and oats is the best combination for this pur-
pose that can ever be secured. Of course, for the
first ten days the mare must be fed sparingly. The
digestive organs of the colt are delicate at first.
After this, however, increase the feed of the mare
until she is getting all she will eat.

Should the mare have no milk, feed cow’s milk.
Cow’s milk should, however, be prepared with great

THE AMERICAN HORSE MARKET 199

eare.. Into a pint fruit jar, previously sterilized,
pour seven parts of water and one part of new milk.
To this add one teaspoonful of granulated sugar.
Feed warm. The pint will be sufficient for one feed,
but the colt should be fed every two hours. It is a
lot of work to raise a colt in this way, but it can be
done all right. A nipple over the spout of a teapot
is the best thing to use for feeding a hand-raised
colt.

At weaning time simply let the colt suck less fre-
quently. The mare will gradually dry up. After

=

GENERAL FARM BARN

the weaning, colts should never want for pure
water or wholesome food. Give an abundance of
oats, timothy or prairie hay, add a little bran to the
grain and feed occasionally. If alfalfa and clover
hay is used, bran will be unnecessary, although it
makes a fine addition to the colt’s ration.

If a self-feeder can be used so that the colt can
eat whenever it wants to, the results will be better,

200 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

It is impossible to raise heavy horses without their
getting plenty of feed during their growing period.

Colts should have plenty of exercise. This de-
velops their muscle and bone, and vital organs.
Give them plenty of room to run and play. Of
course, during summer colts should be at pasture
all the time. During winter they must be well
sheltered, but must also have an open lot in which
to run when the weather is not too severe. A
woods pasture is ideal for winter.

Another thing that should be given careful at-
tention is the colt’s feet. For the first year or two
the hoofs may require trimming. Some are in-
clined to turn over on the side. This can easily be
corrected by carefully trimming. If neglected, a
valuable animal may be ruined.

FEEDING HORSES

In feeding horses in general the stuff raised
on the farm must necessarily be used, with
the possible exception that additional concentrates
are occasionally purchased. This being true, it is
highly desirable that feeds best suited to horses
be produced. Nobody disputes the feed value of
oats for horses. Prof. W. A. Henry states that
horses nurtured on oats show mettle which cannot
be reached by the use of any other feeding stuff.
Then, too, there is no grain so safe for horse feed-
ing, the animal rarely being seriously injured if by
accident or otherwise the groom deals out an over-
supply. This safety is due in no small measure to
the presence of the oat hull, which causes a given
weight of grain to possess considerable volume,
because of which there is less liability of mistake
in measuring out the ration; further, the digestive

THE AMERICAN HORSE MARKET 201

tract cannot hold a quantity of oat grains sufficient
to produce serious disorders. Unless the horse is
hard pressed for time or has poor teeth oats should
be fed in the whole condition. Musty oats should
be avoided. Horsemen generally agree that new
oats should not be used, though Boussingault, con-
ducting extensive experiments with army horses,
arrived at the conclusion that new oats do not pos-
sess the injurious qualities attributed to them.

The grain most commonly substituted for oats
iscorn. While corn is not an ideal horse feed, it must
necessarily make up a part of the ration in the
United States. If used in moderation, in connec-
tion with oats, shorts or middlings, the outcome
will be quite satisfactory.

The best forage, undoubtedly, is alfalfa or or-
dinary clover hay. If alfalfa is used the supply of
nitrogen in the food is increased; consequently, it
is not so necessary to buy concentrates like bran,
shorts or middlings. It goes well with corn, which
is a highly carbonaceous feed.

Timothy hay, while considered by most people
an ideal horse feed, has its drawbacks. Good
timothy hay, however, is first class, and horses do
melt on it. Well-cured- prairie hay, cut\at the
right time, is usually free from dust and is very
popular as a horse feed.

During the fall and winter, nothing is better for
young colts and all kinds of horse stock than bright,
well-cured corn stover. This can be scattered out
in the open pasture and horses pick at it during
the day. In this way a lot of valuable feed can be
utilized. Bright corn stover is readily eaten by
horses.

In the Northwest where corn is not largely grown,
barley is often fed to horses with good results. It,

202 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

of course, must be used in connection with oats and
should always be ground. In this country, how-
ever, barley is not widely fed and may never be-
come exceedingly popular.

The feeding of small quantities of oil cake has
an excellent effect on the digestive system of the
horse, but this must be fed carefully. Start with a
small handful a day and increase this gradually.
Oil meal results in a very glossy coat, and ought
to form a part of the ration, especially where horses
are being fattened for market.

This chapter would be incomplete if horse grow-
ers were not urged to supply their animals with an
abundance of the best water obtainable. The
animal’s body is made up largely by water, and if
it is not supplied regularly and when needed, growth
will not be rapid and the animal cannot be kept in
a thrifty condition. Water is especially important
when bulky, dry feeds form the principal part of
the ration. Where succulent substances are used.
like soiling crops, silage or the like, these
feeds supply a large amount of moisture. In
America the watering of horses before feeding
seems best. Some prefer watering after feeding,
but it will be a pretty safe conclusion on the part
of the ordinary farmer to water his horses before
he gives them feed. If heated when in from
work, great care must be used to prevent the
drinking of too much water at once. Common
sense will indicate how to handle this proposition.

CHAPTER XIV

Mules Are Profitable

The production of mules in the United States
has shown a steady increase for a number of years,
but the demand is still much in excess of the supply.
Prices are the highest on record. In spite of the
high prices offered at all the leading markets, and
in spite of the increase in the number of animals
owned in the country, the market offerings grow
smaller yearly instead of increasing. Notwith-
standing that there are more horses and mules in
the United States today than at any previous period
in our history, a very marked scarcity prevails in
all the leading markets. This unique condition is
caused primarily by the marked prosperity of the
agricultural sections. The South is the greatest
mule-buying section of the country, and on account
of the extremely high prices the southern farmers
have received for cotton in recent years, there is
more money in that section to be used for agricul-
tural development than ever before. A good deal
of this ready capital is being used in the better
equipment of southern farms with work stock,
which consists almost entirely of mules. Also,
recent years have witnessed a phenomenal expan-
sion in the farming and mining industries of the
West and Northwest, which has called for enor-
mous numbers of work animals for use in farming
operations, in building irrigation ditches and rail-
roads, and for use in the mines. This western de-
mand has served, not only to decrease the exporta-
tion of range horses and mules, but has drawn, to

203

204. PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

a great extent, upon the markets of Kansas City,
and other western points. In spite of the wonder-
ful development of motor-driven vehicles in the
cities, good horses and mules for street use have
never been so scarce, and have never commanded
such prices. It is difficult to imagine how, for
many years to come, this country can _ pos-
sibly produce good mules enough to oversupply
the market. The opportunities for assured profits
in this industry were never so great, and the out-
look was never so good as at present.

RANGE OF VALUES

If the statistics of the comparative average
values of horses and mules for any period of years
since the civil war be examined, it will be found
that the average price for mules has always been
$5 to $15 per head greater than that of horses.
In spite of the great advance in the values of both
classes of animals during more recent years, the
difference has gradually increased, and the average
value of the mule has constantly become greater.

TYPES AND BREEDS

The beginning of mule breeding in the United States
dates back to an early period in the history of the
country, when Spanish jacks were sent by certain
European rulers as presents to George Washington.
They were used by him on his farm at Mt. Vernon.
Later, Henry Clay imported several of the best
jacks from southern Europe into Kentucky, and
thus laid the foundation for the development of
mule breeding in this country, and also for the
development of an American type of jack. There
are several types or breeds of jacks known in

MULES ARE PROFITABLE 205

Europe, chief among which are the Catalonian,
Maltese, Andalusian, Majorca, Italian and Poitou.
The Andalusian comes from Spain, and was first
introduced into this country as a gift from the
King of Spain to George Washington, and also later
was imported into Kentucky. In color, it ranges
from gray to white with an occasional blue one.
It stands from 14 to 15 hands high, is comparatively
heavy boned, and shows very good conformation in
regard to the head and ears. It is not popular on
account of its color. The Maltese is a small animal
coming from the island of Malta. Its color is
black or brown. It has a well-formed head, but is
light boned and for this reason it is not popular,
except for breeding light mules for use in mines or
under similar conditions.

The Catalonian is another Spanish breed, and
was the first introduced into America by Henry
Giay-)) Vhese jacks are of a good black color
with white points, and possess excellent style
and action. They are also heavy boned, and stand
from 14% to 15 hands high. On account of their
desirable color and excellent quality, they are very
popular. Most of the best characteristics which
have been bred into the native American jack have
come from the Catalonian cross. The Majorca
jack comes from the Island of Majorca. This is the
largest of all the imported jacks, often standing 16
hands high, and possesses the greatest weight and
heaviest bone of all the jack breeds. The Italian
jack has been imported into this country in con-
siderable numbers. It is the smallest of all the
breeds, and correspondingly lower in price. Al-
though it is a somewhat blocky and heavy-boned
animal, it is too small for use in producing the type
of mules which the American market demands.

206 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

The Poitou is a French breed and has been greatly
improved in that country by intelligent selection
and breeding. Importations into America have
been relatively small on account of the large de-
mand for them in France and Spain. It is the
highest priced of all the European breeds, in-
dividuals often selling in France for $3,000.

MAMMOTH JACKS

Notwithstanding the excellent qualities of many
of the imported breeds of jacks, it is the opinion
of most American breeders that better mules will
result from the use of the best type of the American-
bred jack with a properly blended imported an-
cestry. The best strains of American-bred jacks
trace their ancestry to Mammoth, a jack early im-
ported into Kentucky and generally conceded to be
the best individual ever brought to America. The
judicious blending of this blood with imported
animals of other breeds and careful selection
through a good many generations have served to
fix type and color quite definitely, and has de-
veloped the breed known as the Mammoth jack.
It is purely an American breed, from individuals
of which most American mules are now produced.

The hinny is the product of crossing the stallion
with the jennet. It resembles the mule in most
respects except that it is usually smaller, and has
no particular utility which is not possessed in an
equal degree by the mule. It is quite common in
the West, and is used in mines and for similar
purposes. Extravagant claims have been made at
times concerning the strength and endurance of
these animals, but these qualities are probably no
more pronounced than in the mule.

MULES ARE PROFITABLE 207
BREEDING TYPE OF MARE

The mule is an unnatural animal, being a hybrid,
and the product of crossing the jack with the mare.
It is incapable of producing young, and for this rea-
son it is impossible to improve the animal through
the ordinary means of selection by which other
types of animals are improved. It has been pos-
sible, as explained before, to improve and develop
the jack by selection and intelligent crossing. The
method by which the production of good mules is
made possible is by the mating of the best type of
jack with an approved type of mare. In order to
select this stock intelligently, the breeder must
have a knowledge, first, of what the market recog-
nizes as the most approved type of mule, and,
second, just what characteristics the mule is likely
to inherit from his sire and what characteristics
from his dam. Formerly, the requirements of the
South, which was the principal mule market, were
for rather small animals of a good deal of quality
and life, and the lightness of bone and smallness
of hoof belonging to this type of mule was not con-
sidered a handicap. Breeders used small or medium-
sized mares, often with a large proportion of coach-
ing or standard blood, possessing plenty of life and
spirit. The mules resulting from crosses of this
kind are tough, wiry, capable of great endurance
and altogether a very serviceable type of animal.
The market requirements of the present day de-
mand a quite different type of animal, although in
the cotton fields of the South there is still a large
demand for animals of the type just described.
These are known in the markets as cotton mules.
The draft mule, which now commands the highest
price of any type, must be heavier, larger and

208 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

bulkier throughout. He must stand 16 hands high,
weigh from 1,200 pounds up, the heavier the better,
and must be heavy boned in proportion to the in-
creased weight. To produce a mule of this type,
heavy draft mares must be used. The danger of
making a cross of this kind is of sacrificing quality
and conformation to mere size; and the production
of one of these heavy mules so as to insure con-
siderable quality and heavy enough bone to make
an ideal animal requires very careful judgment in
the selection of the mare. It is easy to select a
mare which has a blocky build, large feet and heavy,
strong legs, but this type of mare is very likely to
lack quality and life. Where it is impossible to
choose the ideal mare for this purpose a lot of at-
tention should be given to the quality. Above all
she should be of an ambitious disposition and have
good life and good action. Generally speaking, the
mule inherits from its sire the characteristics of the
neck and head and in a marked degree its legs and
feet, while its body conforms quite strongly to that
of its dam. It can readily be seen that breeding a
mare of markedly light bone and small feet to a
jack simply tends to intensify in the mule the light
bone and small footed characteristics of the jack.
It used to be said that the size of a mule’s foot was
a matter of little importance, that his hoof was
naturally small and compact and his legs light and
slender. But when a 1,200 to 1,400-pound body is
bred upon feet and legs intended to support only
900 or 1,000 pounds, the tendency toward strains
and permanent impairment is introduced and in-
tensified from the very beginning, while if the mare
has heavy, strong legs and large, firm feet, the mule
will have some chance of inheriting in part these
desirable characteristics.

MULES ARE PROFITABLE 209
CARE AND MANAGEMENT

The old idea that any sort of an ill-conditioned
misfit of a mare belonging in no particular market
class, and having nothing to commend her as a
breeding animal, should be bred to a jack with the
expectation of producing a good mule, has been
entirely discredited by the practice of modern breed-
ers. It is to this erroneous idea of the nature of the
animal that the mule owes all of his reputation for
an evil disposition. As a matter of fact, mules which
have reasonably good breeding back of them, and
which have been managed in an intelligent manner
in being broken to work, are gentler and easier to
handle and are more trustworthy than the average
horse. Nearly every case of trickiness or vicious- |
ness on the part of a mule can be traced either to a
similar tendency on the part of its dam, or to abuse
and mismanagement while breaking the animal to
work. The attitude of careless or ignorant people
toward the mule in assuming that he is naturally
a vicious animal, and one to be subdued by abuse
has been responsible for more permanently ruined
animals than any other one cause. The mule, more
than any other animal, requires kind and intelligent
treatment, and will respond to this, while any abuse
during its training period will probably always
show its effect upon the disposition of the animal.

Where mules are raised under farm conditions,
it is usually possible to handle the young colts
almost from the time of their birth, and it is wise
to do this and accustom them to being handled as
early as possible. It will frequently be necessary
to tie the young colts up when their mothers are
to be worked, and they can easily be accustomed to
the use of the halter while very young, so that later

210 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

the task of breaking them to lead will be insig-
nificant. The general care of the mule colt does
not differ materially from that of raising horse
colts. Generally, it is less liable to the diseases
which ordinarily affect horse colts, is less liable to
injury from accident because it will usually be
found amply able to take care of itself, and shows
a greater intelligence in extricating itself from dan-
gerous situations than the ordinary horse colt.
Where barbed wire pastures are used, it is very
seldom that a young mule is injured in the wire,
while it may be put down as almost an impossibility
to raise five or six horse colts under these condi-
tions without one or more of them being per-
manently injured by the wire.

LIBERAL FEEDING A NECESSITY

It is frequently stated that mules grow and de-
velop and perform their labor on less feed than is
necessary for horses. The truth of this idea is
to be seriously doubted. It is very unlikely that
the average mule will perform a given amount of
work on less feed than the average horse of the
same weight would consume in performing the
same work. However this may be, it is certain
that the best development of the growing animal
calls for liberal feeding. Under farm conditions,
it is almost always necessary to work the dam dur-
ing a considerable part of the summer, and un-
usually good care and feeding should be given her
in order to provide for a liberal flow of milk. The
colt will learn to eat a little bran when it is only a
few weeks old, and a feed box should be provided
and some crushed or ground grain, preferably oats,
should be kept where the young animals can eat a

MULES ARE PROFITABLE 211

few mouthfuls whenever they will. In cases where
the dam is found to be not a good brood mare and
having an insufficient milk supply, it is a compar-
atively easy task to teach the colt to drink milk. A
pint of cow’s milk night and morning will mate-
rially aid in preventing retarded growth.

Five months is usually considered the proper
age for weaning, and the colt at this time should
be accustomed to eating considerable hay and
grain, and should receive quite a variety in order
that the withdrawal of the milk ration will not
tend toward stunted growth. If some fresh, green
pasture is available at the weaning period, it will
be found useful in keeping the colts in good condi-
tion. This period, however, is usually in the fall,
and unless special provision has been made to have ©
some good fall pasture the young animal will prob-
ably have to depend upon the ordinary barnyard
feeding. Alfalfa or clover are excellent feeds for
this period, and, in fact, during the first winter.
The grain ration should consist of oats and cracked
corn, if the forage is of a leguminous character,
such as alfalfa, or of oats and bran if no legu-
minous hays are used. Liberal feeding, good shelter
and plenty of exercise during the first winter and
plenty of good pasture during the following sum-
mer will keep the young colt growing, and bring
out the maximum development.

BREAKING THE MULE TO WORK

The best time to break colts to harness is a
matter of some dispute among breeders. If the
breeder is disposed to place the young animals at
hard work as soon as they are trained to the har-
ness, then he had better wait until they are four

212 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

years old. They may very well be broken to
harness at the age of two, but at this time they are
too young to be placed at steady hard work. A
little light driving or an occasional half day’s light
work in the field will be of benefit to them, but over-
work at this time will result in stunted growth. At
three years old they are shedding their teeth, and
on this account are peculiarly unfitted for any severe
work. If they have been broken to harness as two-
year-olds, the light work and driving may be kept
up while they are three-year-olds, but under no
circumstances should they be placed at hard work
this year. Special attention should be given to
their feeding at this time, because frequently
while they are losing their teeth their mouths
will become so sore as to make it impossible for
them to chew dry, hard grain. If circumstances
are such that the animals will be put to work as
soon as they are broken to harness, by all means
wait until they are four years old. They will be
able to do a lot of work this year, and when they are
five years old will be ready for complete service of
all kinds.

The mule’s ears are much more sensitive than
those of the horse, and it is very easy during the
training period to develop permanently a bad habit
on the part of the animal by careless or rough
handling of its head. A careless blow with a whip
or with the hand across the mule’s ears may instill
into his mind a fear that years will not overcome.
Some people have made the practice of seizing
an unruly mule by the ears to hold him, thus
taking advantage of this sensitiveness, but this is
never a safe practice, as the disposition of the
animal may be permanently ruined by such treat-
ment,

MULES ARE PROFITABLE 213

By the careful selection of breeding mares and
by intelligent care and feeding of the growing
animals, a finished product is developed at four or
five years old, which will command, on an aver-
age, higher prices upon the market than a horse
colt raised under similar conditions. The risk is
considerably less, and the expense no greater, while
the demand for this type of animals is continuously
increasing, and will undoubtedly do so for years to
come. It will pay enterprising farmers to thor-
oughly investigate the possibilities of mule raising
with a view to engaging in it for the production of
market types of animals.

CHAPTER XV

Baby Beef
WHAT IT IS

The production of the type of meat animals
known as baby beef is a development of compar-
atively recent years, and has been brought about
by the more intensive conditions of modern
American agriculture. In the old days of cheap
land and free grass, the idea was to raise cattle
until they reached the age of four or five years
before marketing. Modern conditions require that
the animal intended for slaughter shall receive the
maximum amount of growth and be ready for the
block as young as possible and with the minimum
of expense for labor and feed in the process of its
development. It requires much more feed and
much more time and keeps the money locked up
for a longer period to maintain beef cattle until
they are three or four years old before marketing
them than if they are given a forced rapid growth
and marketed younger, and the returns must be cor-
respondingly large in order to pay a profit and in-
terest on the initial investment for the longer period.
Market conditions in recent years are such that
the younger animals command the higher price,
and so when the difference in the amount of feed
and labor is considered, the balance under farm
conditions is likely to be in favor of the shorter
feeding period. Under conditions where cattle
could subsist upon the free grass of the open range
for an indefinite period, it mattered little to the

214

BABY BEEF 215

owner whether they were sold at three or at five
years of age, but under farm conditions the rela-
tive length of the maintenance period often means
the difference between a net profit and net loss.
li the animals can be brought to nearly the same
weight at the age of from 15 to 24 months, all of the
feed for maintenance is saved, but half the amount
of labor is expended and the money represented in
the investment is used for but half the period.
These are important considerations in growing
live stock of any kind.

This necessity for marketing finished beef animals
at the earliest possible date has given rise to a dis-
tinct market class which is known as baby beef.
Generally speaking, a calf marketed any time after
the veal age and under the age of 24 months in a
well-fattened and highly finished condition is classi-
fied as baby beef.

FASTER GAINS POSSIBLE

The feeding of the best type of baby beef re-
quires a high degree of skill on the part of the
feeder. One of the greatest economies in feeding
baby beef lies in the fact that young animals will
make gains upon a relatively smaller ration than
can be done by older animals. Records show that
each succeeding year up to the age of five re-
quires nearly 50 per cent more feed for the
same amount of gain than was used the pre-
ceding year. Tests made at the Illinois ex
periment station show that the cost of pro-
ducing gains on yearlings was 37 per cent greater
than on calves, and 18 per cent more on two-year-
olds than on yearlings. In these days of high-
priced feed, this rapid gain which can be produced

216 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

by early feeding is a very strong argument in favor
of fitting beef animals for the block before they
are two-year-olds. This ability of young animals
to make greater use of their feed lies in the fact
that nearly half of the feed consumed is used in
maintaining weight already gained. The larger
and heavier the animal the more energy, and con-
sequently the more feed is required to keep up the
body heat, build up broken-down tissues, keep the
blood in circulation and perform the bodily func-
tions incidental to maintenance.

TYPES AND KINDS

In the production of early baby beef, calves which
have run with their dams during the first five or
six months furnish the best foundation for high-
class feeders. Such calves are usually in better
flesh at weaning time and make more thrifty and
vigorous growth during their early life and have
developed better feeding capacities than calves
which have been hand-fed the greater part of this
period. Where the calves are raised primarily to
be fed for baby beef and it is desired to market
them at the earliest possible age, feeding should
begin as soon as the young calf can be induced to
eat, since the successful finishing of baby beef is
essentially a forcing process. It is important that
the maximum amount of growth and weight should
be secured in the shortest possible time regardless
of considerations of the after effect, which would
be imperative if the animal were kept for
breeding purposes. The sole object of feeding and
managing should be to mature a calf as young as
possible and with a high degree of quality and
finish. The best baby beef type is the low-down

BABY BEEF 217

blocky, compact form which is typical only of the
beef breeds, or typical in a marked degree only in
animals having a large preponderance of clearly
defined beef type. The Aberdeen-Angus is un-
questionably the one breed best suited to the pro-
duction of baby beef animals. In conformation and
type, this breed corresponds most nearly to the
ideal, and its early maturing characteristics make
it especially desirable for the feeding and finishing
of young animals. Calves showing a large per-
centage of Hereford or Shorthorn blood also make
excellent feeders. Frequently the dual-purpose
type will finish very smoothly, while the dairy
breeds have the least adaptation to this use, al-
though large numbers of them are annually finished
for the baby beef market.

SOURCES OF STOCK

The closing out of many of the large cattle
ranches of the West in recent years has thrown upon
the markets large numbers of high-grade range cows
with calves following them. This stock is usually
marketed in late summer after having had the
benefit of the best summer grass available upon
the range, and are usually in excellent condition.
The calves will be found thrifty and of large frame
and good feeding capacity and average, perhaps, 400
pounds in weight. This class. of cattle is placed
upon the market when the calves are at the proper
age for weaning, and many thousands of them have
been purchased by the middle western farmers to
be finished for baby beef. The cumulative effect of
30 years or more of pure-bred sires upon the west-
ern ranges shows itself in the high-class cross-bred
Herefords and Shorthorns which are now yearly
offered in the markets of Chicago, Kansas City and

218 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Omaha. This excellent beef type is especially
noticeable in the calves marketed and shows to its
best advantage in the finishing of calves for baby
beef. Their active life upon the open range, usually
with an abundance of feed, has given them a good
frame and has developed a large feeding capacity,
and these characteristics are made use of when the
calf is put in the feed lot in the fall.

Another source from which large numbers of
calves are drawn for early feeding are the dairy
farms which are so situated as not to be able to
raise the calves to maturity. These farms are
found especially in dairy districts contiguous to
large cities which furnish a market for all the milk
produced at such prices that it is often thought un-
profitable to use the milk for feeding calves. A
good many of the calves from these dairies are sold
as veal, but large numbers are also fed on milk for
a short time, until they are able to eat grain and
other concentrated feeds. They may be purchased
at very reasonable prices as soon as they are old
enough to eat grain and are taken to farms in the
erain-growing districts. It is often possible for the
farmer who is favorably situated for feeding to buy
one or more carloads of calves each year in his own
immediate neighborhood by picking up a few in
each place. The high price of land and the grow-
ing scarcity of grazing land makes it imperative
that stock of this kind shall be finished and mar-
keted immediately, and so the greater number of
these animals purchased at random throughout the
country are fattened and marketed under two years
old.

As has already been explained, the very best class
of baby beef is produced from calves of the most
pronounced beef type. It does not necessarily fol-

BABY BEEF 219

low, however, that only one extreme type will re-
turn a profit from the feed yard. Calves from dual
purpose breeds, such as milking Shorthorns or Red
Polled, frequently finish very smoothly and make
good use of their feed. The purely dairy breeds
can usually, with careful feeding and good care, be
fattened at good profit. Holstein calves are espe-
cially adaptable to this purpose when they are
handled from the time of birth with the idea of
marketing them for beef. The heavy grain feed-
ing forces a rapid growth and a corresponding pro-
duction of fat, so that the pronounced dairy type
does not predominate until 15 or 16 months old, and
by this time they should be ready for market.

HOW TO FEED

It is unquestionably true that the most rapid ©
growth and the best development of the beef type
can be produced by beginning comparatively heavy
grain feeding while the calves are still with their
dams. This grain feeding should be begun as soon
as the calves will eat, when they may be given a
little bran and crushed oats. They will learn to eat
shelled corn at an early age, and this should be
gradually introduced, after which the grain ration
should be about one-half shelled corn, one-fourth
oats and one-fourth bran. There is no single grain
calculated to form a more satisfactory supplement
to the milk diet than oats, and if one grain only is
available it should be this one. Its high protein
content in connection with the well-balanced ration
furnished by milk serves to build a good frame and
tends toward muscular development. Shelled corn
is a fattening feed, and when used in connection
with the oats and milk completes a ration which
includes the maximum amount of muscle and fat

220 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

formation which is so desirable in this kind of feed-
ing. This grain feeding may be begun when the
calf is about two months old and gradually in-
creased until as much is given as the animal will
consume. The calf should be weaned when it is
five or six months old. The weaning time will
generally be in late summer or early autumn. At
this time, the feed should be varied so that it will
include oil meal or cottonseed meal. The percent-
age of shelled corn may be increased at this time
also. A satisfactory grain mixture consists of 80
per cent shelled corn, Io per cent oats and 10 per
cent linseed oil meal. Calves at this age will con-
sume from 17 to 20 pounds of grain per 1,000
pounds of live weight. As the milk ration is with-
drawn, it will be well to take particular pains to
provide green feed. There will usually be clover
or some other freshly mown hay available for feed
at the weaning period in case pasture is short. Green
sweet corn or ordinary field corn may be cut and fed
with advantage at this time, gradually leading up
to dry, shocked corn which it may be desirable to
feed later in the winter. It is best to keep the
calves on green pasture as late in the fall as it is
possible while at the same time keeping them well
supplied with all the grain that they will eat. As
the pasture is used up, it would be replaced with
increasing amounts of roughage, and the change
from pasture conditions to the dry feed lot will
thus be made without any setback to growth and
without any serious derangement of the animals’
digestive systems.

FORAGE AND SUCCULENCE

Alfalfa, clover or cowpeas form most satisfactory
forage for winter feeding. Corn fodder is in com-

BABY BEEF 221

mon use in many sections of the middle West and is
greatly relished by the calves. It has been the
experience of certain Indiana farmers who make a
practice of feeding clover hay and corn fodder that
the calves will consume bright, well-cured clean
fodder in preference to clover and make excellent
gains upon it. The experience of feeders who have
practiced shredding corn fodder and storing it in
large stacks for winter feeding also bears out this
statement. Shredded fodder in large stacks is likely
to heat a little and undergo a mild fermentation,
and it is the opinion of some feeders that this adds
both to palatability and digestibility. While it is
true that the larger percentage of calves finished
for baby beef do not receive any succulent feed dur-
ing the winter, it is equally true that feeds of this.
character introduced into the ration return large
profits upon its cost. The value of succulent feed
is not so much in its intrinsic fattening properties
as in its tendency to regulate the digestive system
of the animal in such a way that a larger percent-
age of the grain and hay is transformed into fat
and muscle. In other words, it enables the animal
to make better use of the concentrated feeds and
forage given. The liberal use of succulent feeds
tends to produce the juiciness of meat and the high
finish of the animal which is so characteristic of
first-class baby beef. Corn silage is one of the
most satisfactory feeds of this character, and one
of the most easily available throughout the corn
belt. Root crops of all kinds, such as sugar beets
and mangel-wurzels are also valuable, and in sugar-
growing districts beet pulp from the factories
makes a very excellent succulent ration. Calves
which have been raised by their dams, and have
been fed in the manner just described should be

222 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

ready for market at the age of from 11 to 12 months,
and should weigh at this time anywhere from 800
to 1,000 pounds.

MANAGEMENT OF HAND-RAISED CALVES

Calves which have been raised on skimmed milk
will usually be slower in maturing and will not
ordinarily be marketed under 15 to 18 months old.
The method of handling hand-raised calves is es-
sentially the same as when they have followed their
dams. The hand-raised calf at the weaning age will
usually have a larger frame and carry less flesh
than the calf which has had its natural ration of
whole milk. The natural tendency of the calf at
this age is to develop frame and muscle, and to off-
set this tendency a heavy percentage of fat-forming
feed should be given.

HEIFERS FINISH WELL

Heifer calves have a particular adaptation for
feeding for baby beef. When fed for this purpose
they take on flesh very rapidly and acquire as
good a finish than steers; in some cases better.
There is no discrimination against them when of-
fered for sale in the markets, and their meat is equal
to that of the best steers. The large numbers of
western cattle offered for sale every fall has always
thrown numbers of heifers on the market, and
sometimes causes serious depreciation in the price
of this class of animals. The increased feeding of
baby beef in all sections of the corn belt offers a
very satisfactory outlet for this class of stock, and
indicates the most satisfactory and profitable
method for marketing it.

BABY BEEF 223
FINISH AND QUALITY

The object to be most emphasized at all times
in feeding baby beef is the securing of quality and
finish in connection with rapid and economical
gains. The value of a high finish is apparent by
the way in which it influences values. Suppose a
steer is marketed at the age of 18 months and at
the weight of 1,200 pounds. Every fourth of a cent

=

HEATING WATER SUPPLY

difference in price per pound makes a difference of
Sami. the value yor the isteerm, Ay) ditterence
of one cent per pound makes a difference of
$12 in the selling price. If this same steer, be-
cause of low finish, sells at 4 cents per pound while
another of high finish sells for 5% cents per pound,
the difference in price between the two steers will
amount to $18. This upon a carload of 20 would
amount to $360, and might mean the difference
between net profit and net loss on the feeding
operations.

224 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING
MARKETING

The time for marketing baby beef is in the sum-
mer or late spring at a period when packers do not
desire the heavy carcasses of older animals coming
from a long feeding period in the feed lots. It is
not always possible to market the baby beef at this
time, because, like all other types of fat animals,
they cannot be profitably held for any great length
of time after they are finished. For this reason, it
is necessary to market in early spring calves which
were born early the previous spring, and which
have been forced constantly throughout the year.
The hand-raised calves purchased from the dairy
districts lend themselves very well to marketing
when market demands are favorable for this type
of beef. These calves are fed heavily during the
winter, and are turned upon pasture as early in the
spring as is practicable, the heavy grain feeding
being continued. They will make rapid gains and
acquire excellent finish and quality during this
forcing period of their second summer, after the
winter feeding with its long-continued use of dry
forage. The change is a very wholesome one, how-
ever, and extremely cheap gains may be expected
from this last period of the feeding season. They
should be finished by July or August, being from
17 to 18 months old at this time, and may be thus
marketed at the season when the packers demand
light carcasses. Beef of this character is in
great demand in the summer, and prices are most
likely to be high at this time.

The feeding of baby beef may be found profitable
under conditions where it is not possible to main-
tain steers until they have reached the age to be fed
for heavy beef. Its greatest utility is found upon

BABY BEEF 225

farms having a limited amount of pasturage, but
where it is not possible to keep breeding animals
in sufficient numbers to raise heavy steers for mar-
ket trade. The ease and relative cheapness with
which gains are secured upon young animals and
the relative high prices which the market has
offered in recent years gives this type of feeding
under present farm conditions a decided advantage
over the old plan of fattening steers.

INDIANA EXPERIENCE

During recent seasons a considerable number
of western calves were finished for baby beef in cen-
tral Indiana. Among the more successful feeders is
Ed Flannigan of Franklin county. In 1908 Mr.
Flannigan purchased 30 head of high-grade Here-
ford calves in Kansas City, shipped them to his
Indiana farm, and fed them out for baby beef. The
results were so satisfactory that the following fall
he purchased 60 head at the same market for him-
self, and something like 600 head for neighboring
farmers in Franklin county. The 60 head which
Mr. Flannigan retained for his own feeding were
unusually high-grade Herefords. They were un-
branded, which showed that they probably came
from Kansas or Oklahoma stock farms. When
seen in March, in the feeding pens, they were in
most excellent condition, and their quality showed
to the very best advantage. It would have taken
an expert to distinguish them from pure-bred Here-
fords. As to the details of handling these cattle
from the time they were taken from their mothers,
and the feeds and feeding methods used, Mr. Flan-
nigan stated that the calves averaged 400 pounds
when purchased in Kansas City, and that they cost
him $4.75 per 100 pounds,

226 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

This original cost, however, was increased to ap-
proximately $5 per 100 pounds by the time the ex-
pense of shipping from Kansas City to Franklin,
Ind., was added. They were about four or five
months old when they arrived upon Mr. Flannigan’s
farm late in October. In order to make the change
from milk to dry feed less abrupt, he placed them
upon blue grass pasture for a short period, gradu-
ally introducing clean, new clover hay where they
could get it, and learn to eat it. Upon this hay, after a
short time, he sprinkled small quantities of cracked
corn, so that the calves would eat some of it with
the hay, and thus gradually acquire a taste for corn.
Later, he fed them small amounts of corn in the
shock, so that they learned to eat fodder. By the
time the calves were placed in the dry lot, some
time in November, they had learned to eat all kinds
of roughage as well as corn.

Practically all the feed they received was pro-
duced on the farm, the only feed purchased being
some amounts of cottonseed meal. Corn fodder
and clover hay formed the roughage ration, and
cracked corn, with occasionally a little cottonseed
meal, was the grain ration. The calves made con-
tinued, steady gains from the very day they ar-
rived upon the farm. The fodder given them had
been cut and placed in large shocks in the very best
of condition, and came out all through the winter
bright, green and free from dust. It was greatly
relished by the stock. Although good, clean clover
hay was available for the calves every day, they
invariably ate their corn fodder first, apparently
relishing it more than the hay.

The amount of corn was gradually increased until
the calves were given all the grain that they would
clean up every day. At the period when they were

BABY BEEF 227,

eating most, the 60 head received about seven
bushels per day of shelled and cracked corn, or
about 64% pounds per head. They were given all
the roughage they would consume, and no especial
record was kept of the amount consumed at dif-
ferent parts of the feeding period. Basing an es-
timate of the total amount to be consumed from
November to May, inclusively, upon the amounts
which he had already fed up to the middle of
March, Mr. Flannigan stated that about 21 loads
of clover hay, and all the fodder from 30 acres of
unusually heavy corn would be consumed by the 60
head of calves. Fresh water was available to the
animals at all times, both day and night. A tank
heater was used in winter to keep the temperature
up.

The calves spent the winter for the most part in
the open air. There was a large, straw-covered
shed, at one side of the corral, and the stock were
free to enter this shed at any time. They seemed,
however, to prefer the outside, even in the very
coldest nights of winter, except on two or three
occasions when a wet, heavy snow was falling.
The hogs following the cattle had shelled corn and
hominy grits where they could have access to them
in a pen apart from the cattle. Very rapid gains
were obtained from the hog feeding part of the
proposition. Approximately, two pounds per head
per day represents the gain of the cattle through-
out the feeding period. Mr. Flannigan sold these
cattle in May, and the average weight at this time
was about 750 pounds per head. In addition to the
cash returns, which gave a very high rate of gain,
both for the corn and forage consumed, a large
amount of valuable manure was available for use
upon the land. After the close of the feeding period

228 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

last year, Mr. Flannigan applied a heavy coating of
manure to 70 acres of corn land, and top-dressed
30 acres of wheat. This year there was sufficient
manure to cover about 100 acres of land with a
rich top-dressing. This cumulative effect of con-
tinuous feeding, whereby the accretions of one year’s
feeding serves to materially increase the yield of
next year’s crop is by no means the least impor-
tant feature to be considered in computing the
total results of a year’s operations.

SCYOKUYAH ONINNIM-AZIYd

A HERD OF CHAMPION SHORTHORNS

CHAPTERS XVI

Hothouse Lambs

The production of hothouse lambs on farms
within reasonable proximity to large cities has
become one of the important specialized forms of
animal husbandry within recent years. By hot-
house lambs, which are also called milk lambs or
winter lambs, is meant lambs which are born in
late autumn or early winter, and so managed that
a rapid forced growth is secured and the animals
marketed while they are still being suckled by their
dams. The meat of such lambs is juicy, tender
and of a delicate flavor and commands relatively
high prices in certain city markets. The principal
consumers of this product are the large hotels,
fashionable clubs and wealthy families of large
cities.

EQUIPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Success in this industry, perhaps more than in
any other branch of stock raising, requires the
proper equipment for handling the stock and pro-
tecting it in winter. It also requires skill and judg-
ment in breeding and feeding in a very marked
degree. The ewes must be bred so that the lambs
will arrive at the desired time, which is seldom
later than the first week in December and may be
any time in November. The ewes should have a
marked tendency toward being heavy milkers, so
that the young lambs will grow rapidly and become
fat at the proper time for marketing. Good shelter

209

230 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

must be provided to prevent severe losses of the
lambs at the time of birth and to insure against
shrinkage on account of cold weather during grow-
ing time.

BREEDING

The Dorset sheep, or cross-bred Dorset Merino,
are the most suitable of the best-known American
sheep for breeding for winter lambs, because they
will breed at any season of the year, and the ar-
rival of the lambs can be timed to suit the desires
of the owner. Professor Shaw, at the Minnesota.
experiment station, crossed ordinary range ewes
with Dorset rams, and then selected from this off-
spring the ewe lambs which showed markedly the
early breeding tendencies of the Dorset for the
second cross, and at the end of three generations
had established a very successful type of sheep for
the production of winter lambs. In addition to the
hardy qualities of the common western sheep, this
stock showed the early breeding tendencies and
quick-maturing qualities of the Dorset. This
breeding procedure may be safely recommended to
any farmer who desires to develop the best type of
breeding ewes for raising hothouse lambs. An ex-
cellent breeding practice is the crossing of ewes of
the type just described with Hampshire or Cleve-
land rams. This will tend to produce unusually
large lambs, and while the cross would be unfavor-
able if the lambs were to be kept to maturity, it
will tend toward the production of lambs of a mar-
ketable weight in a shorter period of time than by
any other method. The more common practice is
the crossing of this type of ewes with Shropshire
rams.

HOTHOUSE LAMBS 231
FEEDING AND CARE

The management of ewes previous to lambing
requires no special methods not ordinarily used in
the general care of breeding ewes. Throughout
the autumn they should be allowed the range of
the farm, grazing wherever feed is to be found. In
case the pasturage is insufficient to keep the ewes in
the very best of condition,a liberal quantity of clover
hay or sheaf oats, or some other feed having a high
protein content, should be given. It is not essen-
maleto have the ewes extremely fat at this time,
but they should be kept in a strong, vigorous con-
dition, without which it will be impossible for them
to produce thrifty, quick-growing lambs. If they
are given the freedom of the farm, they will obtain
for themselves the exercise so essential. If, how-
ever, for any reason, it is necessary to keep the ewes
in a small inclosure, some provision should be made
for plenty of exercise. As lambing time approaches
the ration given should include more and more of
feeds calculated to produce a heavy flow of milk.
It will be necessary to have the milk production of
the ewes at the maximum from the time the lambs
are born. This change from ordinary feeding to
feeding for a heavy milk flow cannot be made sud-
denly, so preparation for it should begin several
weeks before the actual time of lambing. In prob-
ably no other line of stock feeding, with the pos-
sible exception of the production of market milk,
is the value of succulent feed so apparent as in the
raising of hothouse lambs. The silo is a valuable,
although not indispensable adjunct to this industry.
Succulence may consist either of corn silage or of
any of the common root crops which are in use for
stock feeding. <A liberal supply of leguminous hay

232 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

will be found almost indispensable in feeding for
this heavy milk production. If it is impossible to
supply this feed, by all means see that the ration
contains a very high protein content. This can be
furnished by oats, bran and similar feeds. The
ration for ewes at this time will not differ materially
from the feeds given in a dairy for forcing high
milk production.

SHELTER

Good, warm shelter is essential, and ample pro-
vision should be made for keeping all the animals
under shelter during most of the growing period of
the lambs. One man can usually handle from 125
to 175 head of ewes very easily if stabling facilities
are properly arranged. Not only must the quarters
be warm, but they must be dry and well ventilated.
It is impossible for lambs or any other young
animals to make their best growth in damp, dark,
ill-ventilated barns or basements such as are some-
times used for this purpose. The basement of the
barn may,however,be arranged so as to form almost
ideal quarters for the lambs if it has a southexposure
so that the winter sunlight may be used to the best
advantage. Ample bedding of clean, dry straw
should be provided, and the ventilation should em-
brace some system which, while admitting plenty
of fresh air, does not permit cold winter winds to

enter at any time. Young lambs are singularly.

susceptible to the influence of temperature and may
easily be fatally chilled. The details of feeding
and managing of the ewes and lambs can be easily
worked out if the ultimate object be kept in view.
This object is to secure a forced growth of the
young lambs from the moment of birth. Upon

HOTHOUSE LAMBS 233

farms where a surplus of cow’s milk is available,
it will frequently pay to feed a liberal ration of this
to the young lambs to supplement the milk ration
furnished by the ewes. It is no great task to teach
the young animals to drink, and this extra milk
ration will have a marked effect in fitting the lambs
for the market. At the earliest possible moment a
grain ration should be added. If the lambs be
given individual attention they may be taught to
eat sifted oatmeal or ground barley and a little oil
cake while very young. This is best fed by fixing
a creep for the lambs so that they can have access
to a trough containing some of this mixed grain
without being disturbed.

A difficulty which is likely to be met when the
sheep are kept closely confined under shelter, as is ©
necessary for the growing of winter lambs, is that
the older and stronger lambs are likely to rob the
younger ones of their feed. This point should be
watched and met by the prompt separation of the
smaller and weaker lambs in pens by themselves.
It will also require constant close attention to keep
the young lambs free from stomach worms and
other parasitic disorders. The ordinary well-known
means of combating these pests will suffice equally
well for young lambs of this character. The most
effectual treatment for stomach worms and _ in-
testinal parasites of all kinds is the administering
of a small quantity of gasoline to each lamb sus-
pected of infestation. The growing lambs will soon
learn to nibble at fine, well-cured alfalfa or clover
hay, and will consume considerable quantities of it
if it is kept constantly available to them. These
nibbling propensities may be taken advantage of
in keeping the animals healthy by placing a small
quantity of tobacco stems in one end of their man-

234 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

gers so that they will occasionally eat a little of the
weed, which tends to prevent parasitic troubles.

MARKETING

Profit from winter lambs is not entirely a ques-
tion of breeding the sheep, of handling or manag-
ing, or feeding or sheltering or protecting them in
winter. Attention to all these factors would fail
to produce a profit unless there is a reasonable
proximity of market. It is obviously impossible
to ship lambs which have not yet learned to subsist
without their mother’s milk to any great distance
with the expectation of selling them for slaughter
upon their arrival. The suffering of the animals
under these conditions would be extreme, and the
shrinkage would be so great as to wipe out any
possible profits. A few years ago a Colorado sheep
man shipped some ten-week-old lambs direct from
the range to Kansas City with the expectation of
selling them as milk lambs. After separating them
from their dams, they were loaded into a car and
forwarded as rapidly as possible, but the shrinkage
was great and the lambs arrived in such poor con-
dition as to be almost unsalable. The experiment
was a total failure. The most successful producers
of hothouse lambs are found under farm conditions
where from 50 to 200 ewes can be handled. By
continued selection of breeding stock a large per-
centage of ewes can be secured which will bear
twin lambs, and in this way the increase may be as
high as 150 per cent. It is customary to slaughter
these lambs upon the farm a few at a time and ship
the dressed carcasses by express to city markets,
the sales having been made previous to slaughter-
ing the animals. In this way shrinkage is avoided.

HOTHOUSE LAMBS 225

Quality and high finish are essential to the securing
of high prices for this product, and this method of
marketing them avoids the loss of quality which is
sure to follow the marketing of milk-fed animals on
the hoof.

WEIGHT FOR MARKET

Winter lamb production is not a difficult proposi-
tion, although the farmer must be prepared to take
the best of care of his sheep, and must be willing
to spend considerable extra effort upon details.
Lambs properly managed and well nourished
should gain one pound per day from the day of
birth until marketed. Just what weight is best for
marketing is a matter of some uncertainty, rang- |
ing from 45 to 60 pounds.

PROFITS

Since not infrequently as much as 25 cents per
pound dressed weight is realized for them it can be
seen that the profits are quite large. Each lamb
may net from $8 to $12. These prices can be
secured only by having the lambs ready for market
at the time when the greatest demand exists. If
they are finished too early and sold during the
holiday season they come in competition with the
immense quantities of poultry annually fattened for
the Christmas market. On the other hand, if they
are offered for sale too late in the season, they will
have to compete with feed-lot lambs and thus the
high prices will not be realized. This period be-
tween the holidays and the first appearance of corn-
fed lambs, including January and most of February,
is the time when farmers should plan to market

236 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

their hothouse lambs. In spite of the high per-
centage of profit frequently made, this business has
never yet been overdone, and there is a very con-
siderable field for the industry upon farms within
reasonable distances of the larger cities of this
country.

CHAPTER XVII

Pastures for Grazing Farm Animals

About one-third of the improved land in the
United States is used for pasturage purposes. In
other words, about 300,000,000 acres are devoted to
the growing of grasses in the cultivated area. This
does not take into account the millions of acres on
the range. It is a pretty safe conclusion that very
little of this land is yielding what it really ought to.
Pasture improvement has been neglected. The
selection of grass seeds has never been given very
much attention. This comes about largely from the ~
fact that the real value of the pasture is not recog-
nized by very many people. Grass furnishes the
cheapest and best feed for developing young
animals, and it is most satisfactory for maintaining
breeding stock. It is an exceedingly valuable ad-
junct during the fattening period. It costs nothing
to raise grasses when pasture is once started. The
crop requires no particular attention, so that it is
surprising that this problem has never been more
thoroughly studied.

In England the value of good pasture is recog-
nized. An English farmer being asked how to secure
a good turf, said: “Qh, that is easy. Prepare
your ground well, be careful in selecting your seed
mixture and then roll each spring for 300 years and
you will get a good turf.” Some of the best pas-
tures in England are hundreds and hundreds of
years old.

The idea of permanent pasture is growing in this
country. A quarter of a century ago very few

237

238 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Americans would even consider a permanent pas-
ture. They figured that land seeded to grass crops
for two or three years should be plowed up and
planted to corn. They thought that blue grass
turf, or, in fact, turf of any of our grass crops, after
the third or fourth year became sodbound, as they
called it; that it must be torn up and plowed up.
As a consequence the very few pieces of permanent
pasture in existence were rather unsatisfactory,
because of the fact that they were so new. Of late
years, however, permanent pastures are being es-
tablished on all the big farms in the country, and
they are exceedingly satisfactory. Blue grass pas-
tures 25 years old on a central Illinois farm will
return more per acre than in any other crop. Al-
most any farmer can devote 15 to 20 acres to a
permanent blue grass pasture. It should be near
the house and barn and it should be used almost
exclusively for a night pasture for horses during
the working season, a pasture for milch cows and
probably a few sheep. Twenty acres will take care
of all the work and milk animals on a 160-acre farm
and leave sufficient growth in the autumn to pro-
vide winter grazing during the mild days. This
pasture will start ten days to two weeks earlier in
the spring than the ordinary pasture, so that the
grazing period is very greatly extended, the supply
of nutritious forage very large and the profit from
permanent pasture great, to say nothing of the
satisfaction of having a splendid piece of turf ad-
jacent to the farm buildings.

MANURING PASTURES

Permanent pastures on the rich soils of the
United States will not require much additional
manuring. The droppings from the animals pas-

PASTURES FOR GRAZING FARM ANIMALS 239

tured will add to the fertility, but it will do no
harm to spread stable manure frequently over spots
that do not appear to be doing well. This spread-
ing can be done during the period of the year when
crops occupy the rest of the farm and it is desir-
able to have a place to spread the fresh manure.
A little attention here and additional attention to

RUN FOR SMALL PIGS

prevent the growth of weeds in a permanent pas-
ture will soon result in a solid mat of blue grass
that will grow better and better with each succeed-
ing year.

Of course, all sections of the United States can-
not grow blue grass. The semi-arid regions of the
Northwest will have to depend upon brome grass
and alfalfa and a few other forage plants for their
pasture. Brome grass is proving a splendid pas-
ture grass, even in the humid areas. It forms a
compact sod, supplies a large amount of forage and
will thrive under what are ordinarily considered
adverse conditions. This grass should not be
neglected in the regions above mentioned.

In order to start a permanent pasture, the first
thing to do is to clean up the ground designed for
this purpose. If it is an old pasture, pretty thor-
oughly manure the land by top dressing and apply
the seeding of blue grass, or any other mixture
that is desired. On uplands or dry hillsides, a mix-

240 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

ture of seed consisting of timothy 4 pounds, orchard
grass 3 pounds, meadow fescue 4 pounds, hard
fescue 3 pounds, Kentucky blue grass 4 pounds,
white clover 4 pounds, red clover 4 pounds, has
been used with satisfaction in the eastern part of
the United States. On moist soils 4 pounds of red
top may take the place of the hard fescue. In the
middle West and the far West these mixtures are
not as popular. More dependence is put on clovers,
alfalfa, timothy and brome grass. In the East
also it is customary to apply some commercial fer-
tilizers, from 200 to 400 pounds of a mixture com-
posed of 50 pounds of nitrate of soda, 150 pounds of
tankage, 700 pounds of acid phosphate and 100
pounds of muriate of potash being quite satisfactory.

During the first season the land should not be
pastured. The following spring, after the grass
has started nicely, additional commercial fertilizers
may be applied, or spots that do not appear per-
fectly thrifty may be treated with a light top dress-
ing of stable manure. Grass will soon take posses-
sion of the ground, and will be ready for stock.

It must be remembered that it never pays to
overstock any pasture, particularly one that is just
getting started. Let the animals run on it occa-
sionally, but do not let them graze too closely.

It must also be remembered that in the South Ber-
muda grass is especially adapted to conditions ex-
isting there. This takes the place of blue grass of
the middle states and brome grass of the North-
west.

STARTING NEW PASTURES

Where pastures are to be started on cultivated
lands, several years are required to secure one that

ee

PASTURES FOR GRAZING FARM ANIMALS 241

is satisfactory. Grass seed is usually applied to
the ground in the fall, with wheat, or, if clover is to
be added, the timothy, red top, etc., is seeded in
the fall and clover applied in the spring. The first
year nothing is obtained from the field except a
crop of wheat. In the fall the land has to be mowed,
to keep down the weeds. If the stand is good, the
new pasture may be grazed very lightly the first
fall but stock should be kept off during the
pier. ihe next Season the erass ought to be
fairly well established and capable of supporting
a pretty fair number of farm animals. During this
second season care must be taken to take off the
stock at the first appearance of overpasturing.
Then, too, if weeds of any kind appear, they must
be mowed and disposed of before the seed ap- -
meags- By the end of the third or fourth year a
start toward a permanent pasture is well under
way.

Another practice is to sow the grass seed alone
without a nurse crop. The crop of fall grain is
practically last, but, in many cases, particularly
where there is apt to be a shortage of moisture, it
is better to seed alone. The same precautions
noted concerning weeds and overpasturing must
be observed in this case. If the ground to be de-
voted to pasture has a very compact and stubborn
subsoil, it ought to be subsoil plowed before it is
seeded to grass. The cost of this extra labor will
be more than made up by the increased thrift of
the pasture crop.

Prof. W. J. Spillman states that there are three
ereat pasture grasses in the United States—brome
grass for the Northwest, blue grass for all the cen-
tral area and Bermuda grass for the South. To this
must, of course, be added alfalfa, which, although

242 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

primarily a forage plant, will, after being well es-
tablished, furnish excellent pasturage, if treated
right. Professor Spillman also believes that while
the seeding of mixtures such as are used in the old
country have not been very popular in the United
States, the practice ought not to be abandoned
until a thorough tryout is given. Possibly some
successful mixture will be found. If it is, it will
mean a whole lot to the live stock industry of the
country.

The seeding of timothy and clover together seems
to be one of the popular forms of starting a pas-
ture in this country, to which other grasses ought
to be added, particularly blue grass. In seeding
grasses it must be remembered that, other things
being equal, rich land requires more seed than poor
land and wet land more than dry. A well-prepared
seedbed requires less seed than one poorly pre-
pared. A single pound of timothy seed to the acre,
if every seed produced a thrifty plant, would pro-
duce 27 pounds on every square foot.

Mrs. Meredith, on her Indiana farm, devoted to
the raising of pure-bred Shorthorns, is a very firm
believer in a permanent pasture. She contends
that it not only enables her to keep more live stock
but it gives her a larger proportion of feed than
most people think can be secured from pasture
land. Further than this, the fact that farm animals
become accustomed to grazing in certain fields and
get used to a permanent pasture must be given con-
sideration.

While permanent pastures are highly desirable,
temporary pastures often are a great help. These
may be made in the North in summer by sowing
winter cereals in the spring. A true winter cereal,
if seeded in the spring, will not head out that year,

PASTURES FOR GRAZING FARM ANIMALS 243

but will produce a vast growth of leaves, which
stock eat with a relish. These temporary pastures
may also be grazed the following winter and some-
times they produce a crop the next spring. The
difficulty unsurmounted in this temporary pasture
proposition is that there is frequently a temptation
to keep the stock on when the ground is too wet,
thus seriously injuring the mechanical condition of
the soil.

CHAPTER AVitt

Finishing Stock for Market

As has already been stated, the feeding of live
stock is a difficult and complex art on account of
the great number of influencing factors. These
factors do not all pertain to the composition and
combination of feeds which will produce the
greatest absolute results in whatever line of feed-
ing is pursued, but they relate in still greater meas-
ure to the relative profits to be secured from dif-
ferent feeding practices. A feeding ration which
is well adapted to the needs of certain conditions,
is not necessarily the best under all conditions.
Because a certain system of feeding will produce
given known results with a certain class of stock
is not in itself evidence that the most profitable re-
turns will be secured from it. The value of feed
and the market price of finished live stock enter
into the question and form intricate problems which
require for their solution the best judgment that
education and experience can furnish. What will
prove profitable feeding practice for one season,
with a stated value for feeds and a corresponding
price for feeding animals, will not necessarily prove
profitable the next season when both the raw ma-
terial and the finished product may have far dif-
ferent relative values. Wide experience and an
intelligent interest in market conditions and in
crop production will go a long way toward pro-
moting the formation of an intelligent opinion on
questions of values. Yet instances are numerous
in the experience of almost every feeder when

244

FINISHING STOCK FOR MARKET 245

the opinion of those best informed upon feed and
live stock values has proved faulty by the time the
stock was fitted for market.

The finishing of live stock on a basis profitable
to the feeder is an industry that is carried on under
continually changing conditions, and requires a
keenness and alertness on the part of those who
engage in it fully as great as that required in any
business or profession. A mistake in judgment
when purchasing steers for fattening, for instance,
may result in a loss on the year’s operations large
enough to wipe out the profits of one or more pre-
ceding years. Calculations based upon the hypoth-
esis that corn will be worth 30 cents per bushel are
entirely upset should market conditions force the
price to 50 cents. It is a question of grave moment
whether to market half-finished cattle when the
price is high, or whether to continue feeding them
on expensive feeds until finished and take a chance
of finding a lower market. These, and numberless
other considerations, enter so largely into the ques-
tion of expediency in live stock feeding that the
making of definite, set rules for the guidance of the
farmer is an utter impossibility. The numberless
details of market conditions and demands, of feed
values and live stock values, of the thousands of
little things that enter into the most successful
type of feeding, can be gained only by experience
and by a large degree of intelligence and observa-
tion on the part of the feeder. While each may
be a small thing in itself, taken collectively they
frequently denote the difference between success
and failure in the feeding operations of the farm
for any term of years. There is scarcely a feeder
of extended experience anywhere in the country
who has not, in some particular season, lost money

246 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

on his operations, but there are thousands who

have procured good profits if the operations for any

definite term of years be considered.
FEEDING PERIODS

Fattening stock for the market frequently de-
mands different practice for different portions of the
feeding period. Feeding management which will
give the best results at the beginning of a fatten-
ing period will seldom or never be the best during
the finishing period. Cattle which are placed in
a feed lot in a thin condition of flesh on account
of insufficient feeding cannot be handled in the
same manner as thrifty, well-conditioned stock.
Such animals as these can be fed during the first few
weeks upon nourishing and strength-giving feeds,
largely of a protein nature, which will build up the
general physical condition of the animal, enrich the
blood, and induce a thrifty, growing condition.
Then gradually change the feed to one of a more
carbonaceous nature, so that fat will be formed and
weight gained while still maintaining the strong
muscular frame produced by the previous feeding.
The management of growing animals is, as a rule,
much better understood by farmers than are the best
methods of fattening, and this refers especially to
the finishing period of the fattening process.

The vital question for successful marketing is,

when is the proper time or the proper stage of de-.

velopment to market an animal to the greatest
advantage? The answer is, of course, the time
when it will make the most profit. This, as has
already been pointed out, is a very difficult matter
to decide. A visit to the live stock markets any
day in the year will reveal large numbers of animals

FINISHING STOCK FOR MARKET 247

offered for sale in a partly finished condition. This
can have but one meaning, namely, that feeders of
experience find that under some conditions it is
more profitable to market stock at this stage than
to continue feeding for 30 or 60 days longer in
order to secure a high finish. It is always true that
well-finished animals sell for higher prices than
those not well finished. It is not necessarily al-
ways true that the highly finished class returns the
greatest profit to the man who fed it on account of
Hie diterence in the cost of production. A lot of
expensive feed is given to put a high finish on the
high-priced animals, and it might easily be true
that the cost of this feed more than offsets the dif-
ference in price. However, it is always desirable |
to feed cattle or any other class of meat-produc-
ing animals until they have a high finish, or
“bloom,” under all conditions where it can be done
at a profit. These conditions are usually found
when there is a reasonable margin between the
value of feed and the market value of the finished
animal.

In competitions involving the relative merits of
fat animals, very frequently the deciding factor will
be that one animal or one lot has a higher finish
than its nearest competitor. This finish of fattened
animals may be likened to quality in breeding
animals. It is something that is hard to define,
being of a variable nature. Its consideration in-
cludes not only the absolute amount of flesh the
animal carries, but the manner of its distribution
upon the carcass, the quality and the consistency
of the meat and the external appearance of the
animal. The securing of exactly the right degree
of finish, of being able to distinguish the exact
stage when the animals are ripe for market and of

248 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

offering them for sale without any deterioration
from this condition, is one of the fine points of
successful feeding and requires the widest experi-
ence and keenest discrimination. There are a large
number of animals, particularly cattle, which it is
simply a physical impossibility to feed to a finished
condition. Such animals as old cows and types of
the rough, poorly graded stock of no particular
breeding, will never acquire a high finish no matter
how long or how carefully fed. It is manifestly
the course of wisdom to dispose of such animals as
these as soon as they are in condition to be market-
able.

INFLUENCE OF AGE

Generally speaking, it is much easier to feed
young animals until they are finished than is the
case with older stock. Cattle under two years of
age which show a fair degree of beef type can
usually be finished in excellent form, and this is
one of the characteristics which give to baby beef
its peculiar value. The same is true of sheep and
hogs. Lambs fattened and marketed under a year
old can be finished in almost perfect form, and hogs
placed upon the market after careful feeding and
management at the age of from nine to ten months,
will invariably command a much higher price per
pound than older animals of greater weight. Differ-
ence in value comes through difference in quality.

In considering the cattle feeding practice for the
different parts of the feeding period, we may state
that during the first several weeks the ration should
be largely nitrogenous in its composition. This
tends to develop the frame and feeding capacity of
the animal in considerable degree. It gets the
digestive and assimilative system into a condition

FINISHING STOCK FOR MARKET 249

favorable to the economical use of fat-forming feeds
later on. This does not mean that an exclusively
protein ration should be given, but simply that the
ration used at this time may be narrower than that
given later. The second period will demand feeds
of a more carbonaceous nature. A liberal propor-
tion of corn may be given, and molasses or other
sugar-bearing food may be added if such rations as
this are available. This is the period of gross fat
production. Not only should fat be deposited in
the regular fat cells of the animal’s system, but also
between the muscular fibers and upon the surface
of the muscular frame. The ration at this time will
be quite wide, although it must still contain a
liberal amount of protein. |

The market requirements for meat of the best
quality demand. that the muscular tissue shall be
well marbled; that is, a layer of fat will alternate
with a layer of lean meat. Feeding animals to
produce meat of this character requires scien-
fic teeding, and. is an art in itself, which is
done at its best by only a few feeders. An animal
which may appear fat and smooth to the eye will
not necessarily be fattened in this manner. Nearly
every cattle man has seen steers which have pre-
sented an excellent general appearance, yet the
slaughter tests showed fat to be deposited in thick
layers aS a covering to the muscular tissue, with
the result that the meat was of a very inferior
quality and disappointing to the purchaser. Animals
of this character can be distinguished only by ex-
perienced buyers of the stockyards. A carload of
steers, showing external fat of this kind, or which
have been fed until the fat is deposited in such a
way as to become “ patchy,” will always be dis-
criminated against in price.

250 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

The finishing period in a feed lot should include
special attention to the needs of each individual
animal. By this time the individual differences in
feeding capacity will have manifested themselves,
so that it may pay to divide a lot into two or more
pens and feed each lot according to the apparent
needs. A farmer fattening two or more carloads
of cattle may by this means be able to dispose of
one lot several weeks in advance of the second.
During the finishing period a little more protein
may be added to the ration than during the middle
part of the feeding season. It will generally pay
to add linseed meal to the feed at this time in rather
liberal proportions. The beneficial effects of this
feed will be seen in several ways. One effect is
that, being a feed extremely rich in protein,
it will tend to counteract the tendency of corn to
produce excessive fat in patches. It will tend
toward the formation of some muscular tissue along
with the fat formation, and thus add quality to the
meat. Its effect upon the digestion is also a de-
sirable feature. In the advanced stages of feeding,
the difficulty is to maintain suitable gains in profit-
able proportions to the amount of feed used. By
the use of oil cake at this time, the animal’s diges-
tion is kept in better condition, and gains are made
for a longer period than would otherwise be
possible.

In feeding cattle, from two to three pounds of
linseed meal a day can be given at this tine, pro-
viding the animals are gradually accustomed to its
use. It would, of course, be disastrous to introduce
this amount of oil meal into the ration suddenly if
they had previously been receiving none. Another
effect of feeds of this character which will be quite
noticeable is its effect upon the external appearance

FINISHING STOCK FOR MARKET 251

of the animal. Oil meal tends to add quality. The
animal looks smoother, its coat becomes fine and
glossy and the hair contains much oil. Such points
as these tell favorably when the stockyards are
reached and when the animals are subjected to the
inspection of a critical buyer. In hog feeding,
tankage or other packing house by-products may
be substituted for oil meal if it is so desired, and
the results will be practically the same, and equally
favorable. Hogs respond well to a rich, concen-
trated feed of this kind, in the last few weeks of
their fattening period, and the general tone and
thrifty condition which they develop will easily pay
the cost of the feed. Sheep may be fed oil meal
the same as cattle and in proportionate amounts.

PREPARING FOR SHIPMENT

The last few days of the feeding season should be
devoted to preparing the animals for shipment. A
large proportion of the meat-producing animals
which are sold in the packing centers are shipped
considerable distances, varying from 100 to several
hundred miles. The effect of this long journey is
invariably a shrinkage in weight. How to reduce
this shrinkage to a minimum is a problem which
continues to engross the attention of feeders and
shippers. In general, during the last few days in
the feed yard, the stock should be given drier feed,
if possible, than that to which they have been ac-
customed. If silage or roots are being fed, this
succulent ration should be cut off gradually during
the last ten days, and none should be given for three
or four days preceding shipment. Oil meal should
be used very sparingly during the last 24 or 36
hours and in its place a little more dry corn

252 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

or barley should be substituted. If alfalfa or
clover is being fed, the supply should be decreased
and more timothy or corn fodder given. This
treatment will tend somewhat to harden the flesh,
and heavy shrinkage will be less likely to occur.
The preparing of animals for market should
include not only developing their final con-
dition to its highest points, but keen dis-
crimination in grading the stock. Uniformity in
car lots has fully as much to do with the price re-
ceived as the actual condition of the animals. Every
farmer knows that if he takes to market a lot of
cattle of mixed color and of varying sizes he will
be discriminated against on this account. A lot of
pure black cattle, or a car lot in which every in-
dividual shows the white face of the Hereford
breed, or the pure red or roan color of the Short-
horn, will invariably command a better price, each
separated by itself, than if the three cars were
mingled together in one pen and offered for sale.
By far the greatest number of championships for
carload lots of fat cattle at the international stock
show at Chicago has been won by black Angus
cattle. It is finish and uniformity which has
brought this result in nearly every instance.
These cattle finish remarkably well, better than the
average of other breeds, and they are bred so true
to type that, with good judgment in making
the original selection, a carload can be gotten
together in which each individual is almost exactly
like every other one. This quality of uniformity
is one which should receive more attention than is
ordinarily given it. A farmer who fattens more
than one car of cattle, sheep or hogs can afford to
spend a lot of time in selecting and separating his
stock at shipping time so that each lot will show a

FINISHING STOCK FOR MARKET 253

high degree of uniformity as to size, color and gen-
eral condition. A car of hogs in which the in-
dividuals vary in weight but little will always re-
ceive favorable attention, and a lot of lambs which
are well finished, and almost all alike, will command
the attention of buyers when a poorly selected lot
will be unsalable.

It should not be expected, no matter how much
care or how much skill be devoted to the selection
and management of fattening stock, that the de-
ficiencies due to early management can be overcome.

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REAR VIEW OF DAIRY BARN

The cattle, sheep or hogs which top the market are
in every case animals which have received good care
and have made continuous thrifty growth from the
moment of birth. A calf which is stunted in its
growth during the first year, loses quality. This qual-
ity can never be regained even under the most care-
ful and judicious feeding. The animal may become
thrifty, he may grow fat and make good gains upon
the feed given, but he will never have the quality
that a similar animal kept growing from birth will
show. On this account it is not always possible
for even the most successful feeders to attain the
highly finished condition in stock which has been

254 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

purchased by them for the feeding lot, but which
was not under their control previous to that time.

Prof. Thomas Shaw, known all over the world
as an authority on live stock and feeding, writes as
follows in Orange Judd Farmer concerning finish-
ing cattle for market:

“The method of fattening cattle with swine fol-
lowing, is well nigh universal in the corn belt,
where fattening is still conducted. Where only
timothy hay or corn fodder is fed along with the
grain, and the grain almost or entirely corn, there
will be waste of the food, and such waste cannot
possibly be avoided. The ration thus fed is ill-
balanced. Experience has shown that with such
food a good finish can be made, but it is made at
quite a sacrifice of food. The food is too rich in
carbohydrates to balance the protein content, hence
a certain proportion of it will be consumed for
which there is no return. This, when food was very
cheap, as was the case years ago, was not of much
moment, but now since corn has trebled in value it
is of much moment.

“Tt is of so much moment that it should lead farm-
ers so to farm that the fodder fed will, in the true
sense, be the complement of the grain fed through
bringing it into balance. Happy are the farmer
feeders who have clover or alfalfa hay, or even
mixed hay, of which a part is clover, to feed along
with the corn. When such hay can be fed, it
would seem safe to say that from 25 to 33 per cent
less feed would answer the purpose. This would
mean a very substantial saving in these days of
dear grain. The feeders are also fortunate who
can feed the corn in the form of silage. This in-
sures a larger consumption of cheap fodder than
would otherwise be consumed. If clover or mixed

FINISHING STOCK FOR MARKET 255

hay could be fed with good silage, it would seem
safe to say that from March 1 to June I not more
than 12 pounds of grain per day would be called for
by the steer weighing 1,200 to 1,400 pounds. If,
however, the steer can only have corn and corn
stalks, or timothy hay, the same animal would need
not less than 18 to 20 pounds of grain, which is
very expensive feeding, even when swine follow.
The fattening of cattle without swine following
is likely to grow in favor, and for the reason,
chiefly, that it can be done with a smaller amount of
dear grain. It may call for some more labor. The
grain must needs be ground. When it is ground,
it will be mixed with cut fodder or silage, or at
least it ought to be so mixed. The food will then.
be thoroughly digested. Because it is, a minimum
amount of meal is called for. The saving thus ef-
fected in the meal should more than offset the cost
of grinding. By no other method of feeding can
grain be fed so economically.

“When the animals are being fed on grains other
than corn, the grain must of necessity be ground.
Barley, rye, oats and peas, also speltz, must be
ground to give the best results. This means that
swine could not follow, as they would get little or
nothing that would benefit them in the droppings.
Oats are too dear relatively for such feeding. At
present prices no grain is cheaper than corn, hence,
unless the farmer has enough of home-grown grains
it may pay him to feed corn freely. Where he does,
two-thirds of the grain or meal may be corn. The
other third may consist of bran and oilcake. If,
however, he has rye, barley or speltz, or two or all of
these, they may be made to take the place of corn.
They should, of course, be mixed with some cut
feed, and for such a use nothing is better than

256 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

silage, nor is any kind of roughage so cheap. From
20 to 40 pounds may be fed to each animal daily,
dependent upon the other feed, and the feeder is
fortunate who can feed clover or alfalfa with the
above.

WHEN CROWDING WITH FEED

“The three months now being considered are the
three finishing months of feeding the animals that
are to be disposed of June 1. Such animals should
not be finished on grass. It would be difficult to
maintain the gains on grass at so early a period.
Up to March 1 the feeding would be, in a sense,
preliminary to the final finishing. The heaviest
feeding of grain, therefore, would take place dur-
ing these three months. During these months of
crowding it is necessary to feed at least a limited
amount of some food that will tend to keep the
digestion in tone. When the digestion gets out of
tone, the fact is usually disclosed by the condition
of the droppings. The odor from them is offensive
in proportion as the digestion is overtaxed. To
prevent this, oilcake or wheat bran should be used.
Oilcake is dear, but one or two pounds a day per
animal will probably more than pay. During these
finishing months, the animals cannot be watched
too closely lest they get off feed. The aim should
be to crowd them along, but not to overcrowd. It
is the steady and continuous gains that should be
sought, rather than rapid gains followed by slow-
ing-up periods. As the weather gets warm in May,
much watchfulness is necessary lest the animals
shall lose appetite, and, in consequence, cease to
gain. If they are to be kept longer than June I
they should be finished on grass, accompanied by
a limited amount of grain.”

FINISHING STOCK FOR MARKET 257
FATTENING HORSES

What has been said with regard to meat-produc-
ing animals applies with equal force to horses being
prepared for market. The purchase of horses in
poor or medium condition of flesh, and feeding them
so that they may be placed upon the city market in
good condition, is an industry of considerable pro-
portions in various sections of the West. Thesame
principles that apply to the feeding and finishing of
meat animals can be safely applied to horses.
While the object for horse feeding is not simply
for increasing the weight and fat, yet it is true that
a horse offered upon the market while not in a very
fair condition of flesh will not command the price
that the fat horses would. The utility of the horse
lies solely in his ability to expend muscular energy,
and horse feeding must necessarily take this into
consideration. The ration should be one which
will develop muscular energy, but it should contain
enough of the carbohydrate contents to cover the
horse’s ribs well with a smooth layer of fat, and
make him appear in a healthy, thrifty condition.
The addition of oil meal or similar concentrates to
the ration will be more noticeable in its effects
upon the external appearance of the horses than in
feeding cattle. Nowhere does a shiny, silky coat
count to better advantage than in selling horses.
The horses with smooth, shiny, oily hair, which has
been well groomed and cared for, will invariably
outsell the rough-coated animal, although he be in
himself a less valuable individual.

CHAPTER XIX

Outlook for Live Stock

Stock production for profit in the United States
is an industry which is yearly requiring an increas-
ing amount of skill and general intelligence. How
to maintain breeding animals on high-priced land,
how to rear and develop the young stock in such
a manner as to get the greatest possible growth
in the least time and with the smallest expenditure
of feed, how to fatten and finish these animals for
market, and how to market them in the most ad-
vantageous manner, are questions which require
for their solution ability and intelligence of no
mean order. Each phase of the industry would
require a volume in itself for adequate discussion.
Upon some of these subjects a tremendous amount
of accurate and valuable information is available.
Other phases so change from year to year and from
month to month that little can be said at one time
which could be applied to conditions a year later.
These points must be threshed out through the ex-
perience and keen judgment of the farmer and
feeder himself.

THE BEEF SITUATION

The question of the future beef supply of the
country is one of the most interesting as well as
the most important questions in the entire field of
agricultural economics. For more than 50 years
the number of cattle per capita in the United States
has been decreasing, although the absolute num-

258

OUTLOOK FOR LIVE STOCK 259

ber of cattle in the country has more than doubled.
The pork and mutton supply of the country is more
susceptible than the beef supply to the factors in-
fluencing the market, due to the relatively short
time required in increasing very largely the total
number of either swine or sheep. A serious short-
age in the total number of cattle in the country,
however, is a matter which cannot be made up in
a few months, but takes years to replace. The
price of corn is so inseparably involved with the
production of meat that it may be considered the
greatest factor influencing both supplies and prices
of live stock. The present high prices of all the
meat-producing animals are due in a large degree
to two influences: First, the high price of corn, |
and, second, the shortage in breeding stock, espe-
cially cattle and hogs, throughout the entire coun-
Uy.

It is the supply of cattle, however which presents
the most interesting phase of the question of future
meat supply. While all of the corn-growing states
of the middle West are large producers and finish-
ers of cattle, the relatively cheap production of the
western ranges has always been a rather uncertain
element in influencing the market conditions and
supplies of cattle.

In the entire trans-Missouri country the cattle
industry in every section was a forerunner of civil-
ization. As this advanced westward in the north-
ern part of the United States, the pioneer cattle-
man looked to the Texas ranges for the supply of
breeding stock. In this way the historic old over-
land cattle trail from Texas to Dakota was started.
Along this trail for a number of years great herds
of Texas cattle were moved to the northern ranges,
and distributed throughout Nebraska, Dakota,

260 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

Wyoming and Montana. Heavy, pure-bred Short-
horn and Hereford bulls were imported from the
East and from Europe in large numbers, and used
in grading up these herds, using the Texas stock
as the original foundation. There was gradually
evolved a very fair type of beef animals upon the
western and northwestern ranges.

The days of the great Texas cattle trail were soon
ended. This was due to the influx of farmers who
worked their way across the West in Nebraska and
Kansas, but it served its purpose, and established
the great herds of the western cattle barons, whose
halcyon days were in the late ’70’s and up to about
1890.

HOW CATTLE WERE SHIPPED

The building of the western railroads furnished
means for shipping the stock East, and stimulated,
to a great extent, the population of all the range
by cattlemen. Cattle raising on the magnificent
scale where one company or outfit owned anything
up to half a million head of cattle, continued until
late in the ’80’s and early ’90’s, when the gradual
western advance of the farmers, with its conse-
quent fencing of the country, caused a breaking up
of the old bonanza cattle outfits. This movement
reached western Nebraska in about 1889, and three
years following saw the same inroads being made
in the great herds of the mountain states. In those
sections which did not attract the farmers, the
small cattleman began to obtain a foothold, and
to operate with relatively smaller holdings within
the formerly acknowledged range of the cattle
kings.

The range sheep industry became prominent
about this time also, and its encroachment upon

OUTLOOK FOR LIVE STOCK 261

the cattle territory has extended to this day. The
settlement of the region of the great plains by
farmers, removed, at the time of settlement, prac-
tically all of the cattle in the country. The home-
steader found it necessary to devote his efforts, for
the first few years, to the production of strictly
cash crops, and had neither time nor resources for
raising cattle, even on a small scale. The big cat-
tleman found it necessary to round up and ship out
of the country his entire holdings, so that for the
time being cattle in the newly settled regions were
very scarce. Later, this condition was changed, so
that today these farming sections probably produce
a larger number of cattle than were ever held there
under range conditions.

In the extreme western states, the decade from
1880 to 1890 is shown by the census reports to have
witnessed an enormous increase in the holdings of
cattle. The next step in range development, after
the advent of the farmer and small rancher in cer-
tain sections, was the leasing and acquiring title
in various ways, to such grazing land as was pos-
sible and especially to water, upon which success-
ful grazing depended. With a legal foothold of this
kind, rich cattle companies then proceeded to fence,
not only their own leases and filings, but hundreds
of square miles of the public domain. Here, for a
time, cattle raising on a comparatively large scale
flourished.

ADVENT OF THE HOMESTEADER

The homesteader was still a source of a good
deal of trouble to these large cattle Owners, be-
cause of his persistence in filing on claims in-
cluded in these pastures. The big cattleman has
always opposed these settlements and kept them

oF

J

262 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

back as long as it was possible. The era of big
pastures on public land came to an end a number
of years ago, through government intervention.
The immediate result of this was the throwing upon
the market enormous numbers of range cattle. It
is, no doubt, due to this fact more than to any other
that the exportation of cattle became so heavy in
the years between 1902 and 1906. Besides all the
cattle of these big companies which were fit for
slaughter being placed upon the market, the pas-
tures and feed yard of the Mississippi valley states
were filled with western cattle to be finished for
market in the corn-growing states. Still there were
large areas of land which were controlled by cattle
raisers, and which continue, even up to the present,
to support great numbers of range cattle. The
holdings of individual ranchmen were very largely
reduced, and a greater number of small cattle grow-
ers took charge of the industry.

Irrigation along the valleys has, meanwhile, been
developing, so that great amounts of winter feed
are grown and the more progressive of these ranch-
men have begun feeding in the winter, thus reducing
their loss and placing the business upon a more
stable basis. Title to range land has been acquired
by them in most cases. State and school lands have
been leased, while the open government land has
been used as summer range upon the rule of “First
come first served.”

TEXAS A GREAT CATTLE STATE

Texas has continued to be the greatest cattle-
producing state. The holdings there have ranged
from 7,000,000 to 10,000,000 for a great many years.
These cattle have been kept principally in pastures
for a long time. This is made possible by the fact

OUTLOOK FOR LIVE STOCK 263

that the state and individuals own all the land.
Conditions of range and climate in the Northwest
have served to develop a system of shipping south-
ern cattle in the spring to the northern ranges for
eumumer pasture, From. the plains they) )are
shipped, in autumn, grass-fattened, to the markets.

The last five years have witnessed the inauguration
of a far-reaching change in the economic conditions
of both the far West and the southwestern cattle
country. From 1900 up to 1910, there has been no
perceptible change in the visible cattle supply.
This, it should be remembered, is in the face of a
20 per cent increase in population. Not only did
the supply remain stationary for eight years, but
within the year 1909, according to government
figures, the total beef cattle supply decreased by
more than 2,000,000 head. Exportations of pack-
ing-house products and live cattle have fallen off
in the last four years nearly 50 per cent. These
figures, together with the transitional and indefinite
state of the cattle business in the West, have caused
widespread interest in the cattle situation and its
future prospects. This shortage of 2,000,000 head
would be hard to replace, even if there remained
any section in which the cattle-growing industry
were capable of immediate expansion. The change
in western range conditions has removed any pros-
pect of an immediate future development in that
section. The middle states are raising more cattle
than ever before, but we can look to no sudden in-
crease here. Further than this, never in the history
of the government reports have so many calves been
slaughtered as is being done at present. Not only
are we decreasing our supply of grown cattle, but
we are drawing to a dangerous extent upon our
future supply by this slaughter of calves.

264 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING
RUSHING CATTLE TO MARKET

Recently the great receiving markets of Chicago,
Kansas City and Omaha have been overcrowded with
cattle offered for slaughter in an immature and un-
finished condition. A consideration of the immedi-
‘ate-reasons for these conditions is of particular in-
terest: The large number of western cattle offered
marks the final closing out of nearly every big out-
fit in the Northwest. The smaller ranchers, who
have made establishments along creeks and rivers,
where they are able to irrigate and raise winter
feed, are keeping their stock, and will do so in-
definitely. But the cattle growers whose holdings
range from 2,000 head up have been shipping out
the remains of their herds.

Just the influences which have caused the large
rancher to close out his holdings have been roughly
outlined already. Two additional factors for cur-
tailing the extent of cattle ranges have entered dur-
ing the last five years. One of these is the immense
profits which have been realized from sheep in the
West. The steady increase in the number of range
flocks has prevailed for the last 15 years, in spite
of the most strenuous efforts of the cattlemen to
keep them out of cattle-grazing territory. These
two classes of animals are not good neighbors on
the range, since the sheep are able to crop the grass
much more closely than cattle. This makes it im-
possible for cattle to live on range on which sheep
have been pastured. Hundreds of cattle growers,
some who were in the business on a small scale,
and some of the large ones, have accepted the in-
evitable, closed out their cattle holdings, and bought
sheep instead.

For 30 years and more, both cattlemen, sheep-

OUTLOOK FOR LIVE STOCK 265

men and old settlers, in general, have declared that
the great stretches of plains which constitute the
eastern half of the great state of Montana, that part
of the Dakotas west of the Missouri river and the
rolling prairies of eastern Wyoming and Colorado
were unfit for anything but stock growing, and
could never be used for any other purpose. The
last five years have witnessed here one of the most
remarkable changes in the history of western de-
velopment. Upon the plains of the semi-arid belt,
the dry farmer with his half section of homestead
has invaded this territory in every state from the
panhandle of western Texas to northern Montana,
and throughout hundreds of square miles has liter-
ally crowded both cattle and sheep out of the coun-
try.

Colorado stockmen have recognized the changed
conditions, and have shown a disposition to adjust
themselves accordingly by the admission to the
cattle and horse growers’ association of the cattle
and horse growers of the small ranches, men whose
stock is kept under practically farm conditions.
Hitherto, this class has not been admitted to mem-
bership in the association. Fred Johnson of Colo-
rado secretary of the Colorado association, states
that “practically the last of the big outfits have
gone from the ranges of the centennial state.” He
adds, however, “that there were some large steer
outfits left far back from the railroad in the north-
western part of that state, but that the steers which
hitherto have been readily purchased in the South-
west are becoming scarce as the proverbial hens’
teetu.’ The same is true of the great ranges’ of
western Texas. This land has been found too vaiu-
able to remain longer in the raw condition, and
supports only the live stock which can be grazed

266 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

there, and millions of acres have been sold to set-
tlers and devoted to crop production.

These are the influences which have so seriously
reduced the cattle supply, and which will undoubt-
edly further reduce it rather than bring about any
immediate increase. Eventually, the dry-farming
regions will raise more cattle than were ever pro-
duced under the old range conditions, but this will
not be in the immediate future. It is entirely likely
that several years hence the total number of cattle
in the country will be greater than at any previous
period. By this time, however, the population of
the country and the corresponding demand for beef
will have increased to such an extent that the beef
production per capita will never be able to catch up.

CHEAP BEEF FOREVER GONE

In view of these conditions, it is hard to con-
ceive just how or why we should ever have cheap
beef again. The number of animals kept on the
middle West farms is continuing to increase, but
this increase is gradual, and by no means equal to
the rate of increase in population. Cattle growing,
even on high-priced land, will probably continue
to be exceedingly profitable. The ranchmen who
have been able to stay in the business in the West
will also realize good profits from their stock.

It is likely that the thousands of range cattle
which will always be produced in certain parts of
the range country, will, in time, be fed and fitted
for the market in the western states, instead of
being sent to the feed yards of the middle West.
The growing of barley, field peas, alfalfa and sim-
ilar crops, both upon irrigated and dry farms, is
leading cattlemen to realize what the possibilities

OUTLOOK FOR LIVE STOCK 267

are for finishing stock. A considerable number of
them are already starting in the business, and a
better class of cattle are being raised every year.
This is_due to the introduction of pure blood con-
tinually, and due also to the increased number of
ranchmen who feed their cattle, especially their
yearling calves, during the winter months, instead
_ ot compelling them to rustle or starve, as in the
old range days.

If a shortage of cattle were the only deficiency
the United States is facing, we might hope for a
heavy increase in beef production within the next
few years, but the situation in regard to wheat is
equally acute. An increased area must be devoted
to wheat growing if we are still to produce the
bread supply for ourselves and the increase in pop-
ulation. We now raise about one-sixth of all the
cattle in the world, our strongest competitors being
Canada and Argentina. Even now certain far-see-
ing American packers are causing investigations
to be conducted in South America concerning the
feasibility of importing chilled beef from the Ar-
gentine.

It is extremely likely that the relatively near
future will witness importations of beef into this
country from South America. Meanwhile, the cost
of home-grown beef will increase until it approx-
imates the value of the imported article. Accord-
ing to the Secretary of Agriculture, the farmer has
not been getting his due share of the high prices
for finished cattle. The price paid by the packer
to the grower, in other words, is not as much as it
should be when the high price of corn and the high
retail price of beef are considered. This does not
apply with equal force to the man who is fortunate
enough to own, or control, cheap grass land. His

268 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING

beef will cost him little, if any, more than it did 25
years ago, while the high price of cattle will give
him a high net return. The present is the time to
stay in the cattle business, if it is possible to do so,
and not the time to quit, even to enter the profit-
able sheep business.

Live stock production, especially that relating to
meat animals, is now at a transitional stage in the
United States. Old conditions are rapidly passing
away. Cheap land and cheap feed we have no
longer, and never will have again. The hundreds
of thousands of square miles which only a few
years ago constituted the free range and the free
grass of the West have been reduced to the vanish-
ing point, and their ultimate disappearance is onlya
question of time. The days of cheap live stock
production by indifferent methods have gone. The
days of very large American export trade in meat
have gone also. The domestic consumption so
nearly approximates the home production as to
leave only relatively trifling amounts of live stock
and live stock products for export. With this
condition has come a continually increasing popu-
lation, which will tend to constantly increase the
meat-producing capacity of the United States. lif
we are to continue as a nation producing its own
foodstuffs, it will be necessary to have vast in-
creases in our meat production in the relatively
near future. Public ranges can no longer be
looked to to supply this increase. It must come
from the high-priced farms of the Mississippi
valley, from the old settled portions of New Eng-
land, and from the great undeveloped agricultural
empire of the South. In time, the far West may
be expected to produce more stock than it does
now, but little of this supply can ever again be

OUTLOOK FOR LIVE STOCK 269

diverted to the eastern centers of population on
account of the greater demand for meat products
on the part of the West itself. This is illustrated
forcibly by conditions which exist at this writing.
Only a few years ago many thousands of hay-fed
cattle from the ranches of Montana were annually
marketed in Chicago and other eastern markets.
At present, although there is little, if any, reduction
in the number of these animals fed in Montana,
the East gets very few of them. Nearly all are
shipped across the mountains to supply the meat
demands of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. This
present and prospective demand for animals and an-
imal products merits the attention of every American
farmer. He should carefully weigh the considerations —
both for and against live stock farming before he
definitely determines to abandon it in favor of
grain production. He should become very keenly
alive to the advantages of stock farming and to the
returns which it is possible for him to secure from
it. As an average, he has never made the most
of his opportunities in this line, but conditions are
now such as to merit greater attention to details
of breeding and management and the securing of
correspondingly greater returns for his labor and
investment. To the individual farmer the methods
of profitable live stock production are of vital im-
portance, since upon their solution depends his own
ability to remain in the live stock business. To the
American farmer, as a class, the live stock problem
has even greater significance, because upon its in-
telligent solution rests, in a large degree, the future
agricultural prosperity of the country, and the hope
of ultimately placing the agriculture of this coun-
try on a permanent and stable basis.

INDEX

Page

Abandoned land made productive 33
Abandoned southern lands.......
Agriculture, principles of perma-

MICTU GY qlarcharstels c35 coat rolele metas ean ks

fin western Europe............ 20
Eastern agriculture, failure of

one-crop system in....... 41-43

Te-aAdjustment Of) -). 461 see 44

place of legumesin.......... 45

English agriculture, features of 29
Southern agriculture, demands

improved live stock....... 46
artificial fertilizer used in.... 47
importance of dairying to.... 53
Giversification ins). ass eee 55

Alfalfa, effect upon soil.......... 37
value of for horse feeding...... 201
Pasture for sheep. .-:.....-.-. 172
feeding to swine.............. 182
hay, value of for dairy feed..... 128

Baby beef, defined..........:.. 214

reasons for development of. .214, 215
effect of age upon gains 216, 217
type of calves suited for.......
sources of stock for feeding. .217, 218

adaptation of dairy calves for
219, 220
methods of feeding for......... 219
grain mixtures for feeding...... 220
forage suitable for...:..2...... 220
PASEULC HOD pia cis ciate one sochsl evens iets 220
Guialityzand finishiotss- ae: eee. 223
WEICNE LOD AQehi a. mlieieerar tance 223
fimewornmarketing OL... 44 a5 50 224
length of feeding season for..... 224

Indiana experience in feeding 225-227

Beef cattle, approved type of..... 81
conformation and type of...... 81
CORLL Noha Aig tke Aine ac ore Acar 82

Beet pulp, value of for sheep feed-

lol Ae poem cece onctoies c oe Cos 168

Breed, principles governing selec-

TLOMN OPA urate mierojemerae eis -78

Breeding) objectiof: .... 2.5.02 89
shia ofS) 26 bat ere PrP A eo 293
line breeding, desirability of.... 92
IDEIUCIDIES Ole ns eee ..sieiiie eas 73
importance of pure-bred sire

89,90, 94
discussion of cross-breeding.... 91
cross-breeding, risk in......... 91
results of cross-breeding....... 74
when crossing is profitable..... 74

Breeding stock, how to select..... 73
management of young...... FOS
Teeding Of yOUne, .. siele sale esis 94-96

271

Page

Calvess feed Of 05 fo bab cco octets cae 222
Gattlesficedingiofn. =... one. 66, 67
maintenance rations for........ 110
corn silage for fattening........ 113
dual purpose type of.......... 7A!

Cattle industry, growth of....259, 260
Colts, feeding of 1

6) el .e)o Saal pels @re eels, ale

general management of........ 200
@oncentratestaNe. eee ee eee 111
Continuous grain growing, soil

maintenance fOr! . 2.0.4) elk
Co-operative breeding associations ee
Co-operative testing systems..... 126

Corn fodder, shredding for feeding 231
Corn silage, results of use at Pur-

due) Umiversity; = 5 a0 ee es
Cotton seed, importance of in stock
Peedi \Qavaicis wre renels ore. s Monee aes 49
Valuterot tO SOUtMIe.)s eeeer 50
Crop rotation, importance of...22, 23
Crop yields, decreased by continu-
ous grain growing........ Sins DS
Dairy, sources of lossin.......... 69
Dairy barns, necessity for........ 132

sanitary and efficient types of 133, 134

Dairy cattle, characteristics of.... 82
Conformation (Obs sce seein 82
quality/and\typelofs. <1. .1. 2s oe 83
increasing efficiency of......... 54
aetnods for increasing efficiency

OL iNew wert Rae
more and better ones needed... 122
unprofitable dairy cows must be

eliminateat-nn eee eee 124
elimination of disease in....... 132

profitable herd, how to build up 71
Dairy industry, magnitude of 116
field for improvement of....117, 118
examples of milk production in 118
revolutionized by modern ma-

6; ele she

Chinery Wes Skuse srenerorns 118, 119
Hrokits/obtainable wn. 24. see 138
development of in Denmark.... 117
requires intensive agriculture... 117
Illinois experience.......... 133-138

Dairying, average production per
COW) sans Aeuele ol shavalelavers enatersbarie 4
{ndirect returns from....... 141, 142

importance and relation of to soil

maintenance........... 142-144
EV DES OL ant sie wie alae arer cesta 119, 120

Dairying on high-priced land..... 70

Deep plowing essential.......... 36

Diversification of northwestern
GOTICUIAUTO! crc av areracavars dalare cies

272
Page
Draft horses, desirable character-
ISUICHION ic. caine slack es ee
description of ideal: . 3%. dierecere 80

Eastern land, proximity to market

16)

Essentials for profitable stock pro-
GUGHON 2 cs 2. 1ate bketeta ee
Fxhausted land problem in China 19

Farm labor, relation of live stock

FAUIMING SEO on ele eine 30
Feed, waste of in Mississippi valley 114
Reeding \opjectiane ozs went cet 105

balanced ration dn)... 3.5) :a3% 106
influence of individualityin.... 99
basic principles of... 22... dees 100
properly blended rations best... 101
MUTT VE Tati 1M. uc e eee oe eats 102

nutritive ratio, wide or narrow 102
ienpesiatrs of scientific methods

miakcla aie atalctoter achat niente 115
euctods Ollie i wefsinciyeiaiate este eet 246
forage plants suitable for....... 106
influence of age upon...... 108, 248

effect of unbalanced rations in.. 109
influence of one-sided rations in 249
value of grains and forage for.. 115

Waltte Gh. TOSsts fory.\. 2... alc wits 112
value of beet pulp for...... 112. 113
methods of, in dairying........ 127
Feeding rations for ewes and lambs 157
Feeds, general classes of......... 100
nitrogenous, character of....... 100
STOLE oo oa) cs io teiole nite tale tetera 100
carbohydrates, definition of... 100
non-nitrogenous, nature of.. 100
walueor corn platitii. v- 0 s<caeen 103
chemical analysis of........... 103
variation of to meet objects in
Feeding S's. 6 den creecie , 105
different concentrates in....... 111
succulent characteristics in..... 112
grass and balanced rations..... 112

corn silage one of most valuable 113
combination suitable for fatten-

Snner Tarni bs.) Soars ape ore 165, 166
Finish, market requirements of... 249
Finishing, discussion of...... 254, 255
bar period, feeding practiced nes
itt: ‘deal dairyifeed is ni. ss ee 130
Hogging off crops, practicability of 183

CIS INOLS, waits a giccausrmsedwinie seus create ene 184
Horses, feeding Of... 06... cc ane 200
feeds best suited for........... 200
fattening for market.......... 257
value of in United States....... 189
averace value Of... os scs occ 189
number raised annually........ 189
heavy importations of......... 190
bestvty pe: for Faris )./ocrsiec cee 190
selection of breed............ . 192
selection of breeding stock..... 193
points of conformation........ 193
examination of for unsoundness 196
requirements for draft......... 195

Hot-house lambs, definition of.... 229
equipment for raising...... 229, 230

INDEX

a
Hot-house lambs, breeding for... 230

shelter fors.... ss ..0 snp 232
feeding and management of.... 233
marketing of...’...:'. .. vada 234
best. ‘weight for. .2 53.5. geeee 235
profits derived from....... 235, 236
Humus, source of supply......... 4
increasing the supply of........ 37
function Of. . i... 7. ...semeeen 23, 24
Immigration turning eastward.... 33
India, soil depletionin......... 19, 25
Jacks, description of breeds...... 205
types and characteristics of 205, 206
mammoth, origin of........... 207
Ga Tull, teachings of... Jase 21
see care and management
«oaivaaltols alee Sygate 55, 156
Pishiene for market). co. eae 164, 165
Legumes, place in feeding rations.. 106
give increasing crop yields..... 38
grow luxuriantly in South...... 45
importance of to east.......... 35
Live stock, economicimportanceof 4
increasing the supply of........ 5
PLICES ! OF s.0..4. 4s. bs gk eeiele Se 520
numbers and distribution..... 7,8, 9
number :per. capita... os... eee 15
improvement. Of... 2. oss ase 16
principles of management of..16, 17
on sige priced Jand.... scenes 61
field £00.) ésic ccc. eee eee 17
Siasteen to southern condi-
TIONS" 2 aide. sw ee See
not all profitable.............. 68
sources of information concern-
frig 2 cae 6 ao ne ee
elimination of unprofitable..... 69
selection Of .........s-ssscsces 79
quality. in’... 262. we dec eaten 79
value of pure bred .......... 97, 98
marketing Of.........+sssssuu 2
preparing for shipment..... 251, 252

Live stock farming vs. grain farm-

hs (a A ge ee eS
Live stock situation, discussion of 258
Manure, value of in soil mainte-

Care’ OF ees sib ties ws ew ee 37
Marketing, value of uniformity in 253
Market milk, production of...120, 121

must be produced under sanitary

CONCITIONS <5 /550'2 bie ve 131
figures of high production of.... 137
Meat animals, feeding and manage-
ment'of {3.5 eee eee
Meat production, transitional stage
2 tliat back cea eee RRO 268, 269
Milk, importance of recording pro-
duction .of <. ...csieu ade 123

utility of in swine growing..... 180

ae large southern importations
Po) See Mr ee ae BS, -

strong market demand for...... 203

range of values of............. 204

origin of in America........... 204

type demanded by present mar-
shells NRL NR > 207

INDEX 273
; _ Page Page
Mules, weight and conformation Sheep, feeds suitable for breeding
GeSiTaloler Weis osc). rays aces aioe Ehabbaatell Sioene Sumieeeuale ini o% 151-153
characteristics inherited....... 208 value of roots for feeding
care and management of....... 209 SHEED apie seein 2 £53
feedine OF. 5). jas.) jaelalae = 210 2d winter management of..... 5S ei 4:
breaking to work........... 211-213 ony valuable landh=eeeeeae 62, 169
Ei Open. supply increased by ee pie gece ent of oy nti period 156
RAIMI CS Asks Ae de Pelee eu el alate eeding rations for ewes and
amount removed by crop...... 59 j Fe \ia al] O13 aaNet eaten Hein ges 8 157
amount contained in manure 59, 60 pasture essential for........... 158
Oil Fes place in feeding rations 6 fall Leeda es Ob eve aire aes 159
OT NOESES cin ie to eects Jens 202 ocking and shearing...... 159, 160
during finishing period......... 251 shearing, hand and machine
Pastures, acreage devoted to in Methods cic cee 160, 161
United States.............. 237 treatment of for parasites...162, 163
APMPOLLATICE) OL. sce ais-crenee sans css 237 SCALES ATs, a orstes che Lon eyaties 163
poraerel fertilizing mixtures a dipping, types of plant suitable
OTE ee heeft Se ict ape oR aen AOE A Um pL OLN Sy tcne Scie jolainrS erties awe easoene 163
returns from permanent....... 238 érestment for internal parasites 164
Vvaluelof blue grass-). 3605 3.) <1 238 tODACCON LOL aiteinss eve MeO ee 164
Fertilization Ob ..eys ce s.ciee 238, 239 fattening for marker... 167
BSTOMIE BLASS. 226 < = 2)2 nin = He als 2s 239 feeding old ewes.............. 167
preparing land for permanent Economic) utility, Of eer 168
_, pastures ..........2..0.. 239 number maintained per acre.... 169
suitable seed mixtures for...... 240 future of in United States...... 170
Bermuda grass for..... eatetahens 240 AS Soilimproviersy cence a2 ee 169
maimbenance Of. 2 15 secant 241 land isaitable forms: jen. eee 171
timothy and clover for......... 242 management of ewes for winter
zetaiye value of different grasses TER cal ose arent ah tea Ra 231
Be Whew dad oe GORE Oe Om 181 TMEU HOLT VAAN Oly asadansoanaces 84
WATE ORV EILOr. ie ie cseeuelss 181 conformation of mutton type. .84, 85
value of tape for.......... 181, 182 Sheep husbandry, importance of.. 63
alfalfa tor SHEEP ).i. list «sae «6 172 Shipment, preparing live stock
ae erable He SWINE s,.\ «\c/s'evei 178 Fae Ree RT ea 251. 252
all crops for sheep............ 172 Bees Th ge ae nae ak UNS ge a ae
Heed VAIS Ofisteas.ci Giese > oe os 13, 14 Stace. esa PR EE Lee
Phosphorus, amount removed by Rea Bea dairying SS TT 139
CLO TR ee TNS Seay may OOD els ex etme ch Ge cet at a eens RR ATL
Peaoneiconiamicde anne S08 6p Single crop system ee eos 28
Potash, amount removed by crop’ 59 Soll: ene aes an management 21
amount contained in manure 59, 60 Ag etion in oe ca aR ES
Protein, proportion required for soieoe d astene y old
milk production............ 129 d eee eS as cies Walaa 32
Quality lost is never regained..... 253 focti pace aes 2 aut ola niaiaes 18
es large, causes for passing i ee See oE ee each oe
Uae) Ran neceh aerate Catal 261-277 j aie spurl ecco hee ie
Bape feed, valtte Of. ys-sess 181, 182 ee importance of live
Rotations, suitable for stock farm- stock to..... eualiy alain + +24, 25
MS Asa ety hc tree ae Reiice 38, 39 measure of producing capacity of 35
importance of crop.......... 22) 23 increasing water holding capacity
Russia, agricultural poverty of:... 25 awe of .....- ki PIC IES UENO IC
Rye, value of for pasture......... 181 injured pues ng when wet... 36
Selling crops in bulk bad practice 60 improved by alfalfa........... 37

Sheep, history of in America. .145, 148
number of in early Spanish terri-

DOELES: ai sue heuoie ice oveveln auelabensieue 146
original source of American
SEOC eich steel ereeia cls 146-148
dual pares bY DEVOL)s vcensievsverens 148
distribution and number in
United States). .....05% 147, 148
modern type desired....... 148, 149
breeding for dual purpose type
OL Wiel What ave,atonnenciareieres se 149, 150
management of breeding
SHOCKS cts ieiatelevans tal vielete) sie U50o1
feeds soltsbie NSP y ec kieciaisina cc eue

inoculation of for alfalfa orclover 38
enriching by means of live stock 38
mechanical condition of........ 39
SUupplyine MuTTIS nis. ous < cieielee 39
maintenance, demands more live
SLOCISN ies ciciin oa exons ete ee
Soils, amount of fertility removed
DY CLODSktueromsisnesustoreree re eniale
South should grow its own work
SPOCIEA seins ic Airinaaa orale tere aden 51
wonderful land for legumes..... §2
dairy products imported into 52, 53
Southern cities, milk supply of
AMACECIIATO! cio pisicle ovalbin’e a einer

274 INDEX

e L Page
Southern corn crop, reasons for low Swine, pasture crops desirable for 178
Average VICI)... 2). ceiee ee succulent feed in winter for..... 178
Southern lands, abandonment of.. 20 winter of spring pigs.......... 179
Stallions, selection of............ 194 management of fall litters...... 179
feeding and management of.... 197 feeds 5 se for producing growth 180
Swine, supply Of.) oc'. ae = samen aoe 64 value of forage for. .:'.% -2.ee 181
fees for reiks.'t. eases 65, 66 alfalfa for... ....). sss eae RE 182
Cross-Hreceding OL. |... <2 Sees 74 methods of pasturing.......... 183
BPHES! OES LS i Sen oh ee 86, 174 concentrates for fattening. ..184, 185
points of conformation...... 86, 175 on high-priced land........... 186
weient for market. --..22<2s0) 86 fluctuating supply of.......... 186
effect of injudicious feeding upon 109 market demands as to type..... 187
importance of pasture for...... 109 high prices Of ... .. . on ane 187
maintenance rations for........ 110 rapidity of increase........... 188

HrecdS (Ol ees ak eee eee 173 Swine growing, possibilities of in
characteristics of different breeds 174 the south: - ... 2. 54. eee 51
desirable points of breeding ani- Tenant farming, tendency of..... 12
INAS Bei each aes 5,176 ‘Texas fever, eradication ofinsouth 48
defects in breeding stock....... 176 Tillage, importance of......... 21, 36
selection for fecundity ........ 176 deep plowing essential......... 36
care of breeding animals....... 177 Wool, handling and packing...... 162
forage plants for, . ccc ncccacece 118 importation of into United States 170

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